Playing Along
by kazoquel4
Summary: Nico didn't mean to send the whole camp into panic-mode. He especially didn't mean to upset Will Solace. He just slipped away to help his dad out for a few days. It wasn't supposed to be a big deal. And for Hades' sake, why was Will Solace so upset? Solangelo.
1. Chapter 1

Will folded the bandages, putting them neatly back in the storage cabinet. The infirmary was empty for the night, a rare treat for Will. He would be able to go to bed without worrying about the poor demigods forced to stay overnight, and it was the first night in three days that the corner bed hadn't been occupied by a surly son of Hades, who had practically fled from the infirmary as soon as Will had deemed him well enough.

Will felt a twinge of disappointment as he walked over and straightened up the empty bed. He ran his hands over the cold, clean covers. He shouldn't feel bad about how fast Nico had left. He had been here for three days, after all; anyone would be eager to get out. But something inside Will wished that he had stuck around for a while, if only to keep him company. He thought that after three days they could be classified as friends, maybe even-

No, Will thought, jerking his hands off of the empty covers as though he had been burned. He was reading way too far into their relationship.

Not that they had a relationship, of course.

Will stepped into the dying light and took a big breath of fresh air. He had been cooped up in the infirmary all day, trying to keep himself busy now that his most time-consuming patient was gone. He turned his eyes towards the sun, which was setting over the lake, and frowned. His father had been out of commission ever since the war had ended, and now, instead of the customary rush of warmth he used to feel whenever he looked at the sun, he just felt cold with worry. He had never met his father in person, but he was afraid of what was happening to him now that he had incited Zeus's fury.

Dinner had already started, and the camp was empty as Will strolled through it towards the Great Pavilion. It was full of campers eating and talking, and laughter filled the air. The shock of the war was wearing off, and now that they had managed to put the camp back together normalcy was returning to their lives. As Will walked over to the Apollo table, waving at all the campers calling out greetings to him, he glanced at the Hades table, expecting to see Nico there, hunched alone over his food. He had been planning on sitting with him after he had been released from the infirmary, but if Nico was sick of him he didn't want to push his company on him. He just wanted to make sure he was eating.

He frowned when he saw the table was empty. Changing his course, he headed to the Poseidon table, where Percy was eating with Annabeth, who had completely disregarded table rules since the war had ended.

"Hey, Will," Percy greeted him with a grin as he approached. "How's our favorite patient?"

"I released him earlier today," Will said. "I was actually coming to ask if you'd seen him."

Annabeth frowned and glanced at the empty table. "We thought he was still with you in the infirmary."

"He's probably hiding out in his cabin," Percy said, taking a bite of pizza. "You know Nico; you'd need an army to drag him out to meals."

Will sighed. "I specifically instructed him not to skip any meals. He needs all the weight he can get." Looking once more at the Hades table, he said, "I'm going to go get him out here."

Percy glanced at Annabeth, who was smirking. "I'd say you'll be much more efficient than an army," he said, his lips twitching.

Will frowned. "What?"

"Nothing," Percy said, taking another bite of pizza.

Will was fuming as he stalked across the camp to the Hades cabin. It figured that Nico wouldn't even heed his most basic instruction. _He's probably been shadow traveling all day, too,_ Will thought as he stomped up the steps of the dark cabin.

"Nico!" he called, pounding on the door. "What did I tell you about eating? You've got to _do it_!"

He waited for Nico to shout at him to go away, or open the door to glare at him. When nothing happened, Will frowned.

"Nico?" he asked, knocking again. When still more silence greeted him, he hesitated. It would be an invasion of privacy to just enter, but if Nico needed help, Will needed to know. Maybe he couldn't answer. Maybe he had hurt himself, or relapsed.

Or maybe he was just sleeping and Will was just over-reacting. He needed to find out.

"Nico, I'm coming in," he called, turning the cold black handle and pushing the door open.

It swung open with an ominous creak Will was sure Nico kept un-oiled on purpose. He blinked as he looked around the small room, his eyes adjusting to the darkness. There were only two beds inside, with blood-red sheets and black trimming. Will let his eyes fall first on one, then on the other. They were both empty.

His heart was beating uncomfortably loudly as he stepped inside, peering into every corner to make sure Nico wasn't just hiding. "Nico?" He opened the door to the bathroom, feeling guilty for the violation. "Nico!"

He wasn't there. Will walked back outside, feeling very hot all of a sudden. Something wasn't right.

Percy and Annabeth were laughing about something when he bounded back into the pavilion, flustered and worried. The Hades table was still empty.

"Will?" Annabeth asked when she spotted him. She got to her feet, her stormy eyes wide as she took in his panic. "What's wrong?"

"Nico's not in his cabin," Will said, his eyes scanning the other campers.

Percy frowned. "He's not? But-"

"What's going on?"

It was Jason and Piper, who had spotted Will from the Zeus table. Jason squinted at him through his glasses. "Will?"

"Nico's not in his cabin or at dinner," Annabeth said briskly, starting towards the exit. Percy scrambled to follow her, shoving the last of his pizza in his mouth.

Jason looked taken-aback. "I thought he was still in the infirmary! I saw him this morning."

Will narrowed his eyes. "Did you sneak in _again_?"

"I was bringing him some cookies!" Jason said, his cheeks red.

"I told you that Nico needed rest-"

"Not the time!" Piper interrupted. She grabbed Jason's hand and dragged him after Percy and Annabeth. "Let's go look for him. He's probably just getting some practice in while the rest of the camp is at dinner."

The five of them split up and took different parts of the camp. They sent Will back to the infirmary and the Big House on the off chance that Nico had gone back for some reason. Will doubted it, and only glanced inside the infirmary briefly before sprinting up to the house and thoroughly investigating the staff room, even peeking into the attic to make sure Nico wasn't skulking up there.

As he stepped outside again he rubbed his sweaty palms on his jeans. He took a deep breath, trying to curb his worry. He was overreacting. The others had probably already found him ripping practice dummies into shreds with that sword of his. He had been itching for action for the past three days, and although Will had told him to take it easy, it was doubtful he had taken that advice to heart.

Will's heart dropped to his stomach when he reached the pavilion again and saw the other four waiting for him. Nico was nowhere in sight.

"We looked everywhere," Piper said, her brow furrowed with worry. Next to her, Jason was shifting his weight from foot to foot, agitated. "He's not in camp."

"He might have gone back to Camp Jupiter," Percy said.

"He did say he wanted to visit Hazel," Jason said.

Will pressed the palms of his hands to his eyes. "I told him not to shadow travel unless it was an emergency!" he groaned.

"This is Nico we're talking about," Jason said, running a hand through his hair. It stood up on end as though he had just been electrocuted. "He's not good at listening. Or self-preservation, for that matter."

"We can send Hazel an Iris message," Percy said, nodding in the direction of his cabin. "Come on, that idiot's probably discussing strategy with Reyna right now."

Nico was not discussing strategy with Reyna. Hazel was laughing as she accepted the message, her eyes sparkling.

"Hello?" she said, beaming out at them all. Her smile died slightly when she saw their worried expressions. "What's wrong?"

"Is Nico with you?" Will asked, pushing to the front of the crowd gathered in front of the fountain.

Hazel frowned. "Nico? No, I haven't seen him since I left." Her expression changed as Will's face dropped. "Why? Is everything okay?"

"Nico's not at camp," Annabeth said. "We thought maybe he had come to visit you."

Hazel shook her head. "No, he hasn't been at Camp Jupiter. Unless- maybe he's with Reyna?"

"Who's with Reyna?" Frank swam into view behind Hazel, grinning. "Hey, everyone."

"Nico's missing," Hazel said.

Frank's grin dropped from his face. " _What?_ "

"Can you go ask Reyna if she's seen him?" Hazel asked. Frank nodded, his expression grim, and disappeared.

Will stepped away from the group, his arms crossed tightly. He felt sick. A thousand different scenarios swam through his mind, each of them more gruesome than the next. Had Nico been attacked? Was he lying underneath some tree in the forest right now, bleeding to death? Had he been kidnapped? Was there another camp that he hadn't told them about and he was visiting right now? What if he was in trouble?

What if he had left?

Will's head swam with possibilities. He covered his face with his hands, trying to calm down. Nico couldn't have left. He'd promised he wouldn't.

"Will?" Will jumped when a hand rested on his shoulder. He spun around to see everyone watching him, worried expressions on their faces. Even Hazel was peering at him, her face rippling in the mist. Piper was touching his shoulder, concerned.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"What?" Will asked. He shook his head, trying to shake off the frown he felt on his face. "I'm fine, why?"

"We know you're, uh, close to Nico," Percy said. He flushed slightly, glancing at Annabeth. "And, uh-"

"I'm not close to Nico," Will said automatically. Nico had made that perfectly clear. "I'm his doctor. I'm responsible for his wellbeing."

Jason raised his eyebrows. "Will-"

"Nico's missing?"

Reyna stepped into frame, and the attention lifted from Will, who didn't even have it in him to breathe a sigh of relief. He looked at Reyna and his heart plummeted again. He knew it without her saying anything; she hadn't seen him.

"He's not with you?" Percy asked.

Reyna frowned. She looked better than she had when the war had ended, but there were still dark bags under her eyes, and her braid was a little more disheveled than usual. It seemed that getting Camp Jupiter back together was wearing on her nerves, though she would never admit it.

The worry lines on her forehead deepened as she shook her head. "No, I haven't heard from him in days. I assumed he was still recovering."

"He was until this morning," Will said. "I let him out of the infirmary and he- he disappeared."

Hazel and Frank hovered behind her. Hazel was pale, her face drawn with worry.

"I'm coming over," she said. "We need to look for him."

Reyna nodded her agreement. "I have to stay here," she said. "Besides, if he does show up here, someone needs to be around to send word."

"We'll get together a search party," Annabeth said. She glanced around at her friends, her gaze lingering on Will. Her eyes softened. "We'll find him," she said, still staring at him.

Will turned away. Images of Nico, beat up or locked away or worse still floated through his mind. He screwed his eyes shut, taking a deep breath, and counted to three in his head. When he finished he opened his eyes again, feeling much more in control. Now was not the time to panic. He needed to find Nico, and _then_ he would lock that boy up in the infirmary and never let him out no matter how much he complained.

"Oh, and when you find Nico," Reyna said, her face drawn, "someone slap some sense into him for me."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It wasn't supposed to be a big deal.

Nico had done it dozens of times before the war whenever he had been at Camp Half-Blood. His father often assigned him odd jobs in the Underworld, mostly (in Nico's opinion) to keep him busy. He didn't mind them too much; they kept him busy and in practice, and a small part of him was glad that his father needed him in some way. Not that he would ever admit it to him, of course.

Nico had just been released from the infirmary by the overprotective son of Apollo when he had gotten a message from his father telling him to come down immediately. Nico had hesitated briefly. Will had cleared him for shadow travel only under the most dire of circumstances, warning him that pushing it too far would cause a relapse. He had only agreed to give him the all clear because Nico had been- well, he refused to admit he had been _pouting_ , which is what Will had called it. Glaring. That's it, Nico had just been glaring. Nico didn't pout.

The whole camp had been at dinner when Nico had slipped into the shadows, positive that one trip wouldn't kill him.

It turned out that his father needed some help with some stray Harpies that had gotten loose in the Fields of Asphodel. It had been a long, tiring, irritating job and had kept Nico trudging through the fields for four days. When he had finally sent the Harpies back to their rightful places and reported to his father, he curled up for another day in his bedroom in the back of Hades' palace, exhausted from his mission and aching from the cuts and scrapes he had accumulated. He had been forced to use more 'Underworld-y powers', as Will called it, than he had planned on, and he felt drained. Will would kill him if he tried to shadow travel back to camp in that state.

When he finally felt strong enough, he popped his head into the throne room to tell his father he was going and stepped into the shadows, feeling the customary tug in his gut as the shadows overcame him. A moment later he was spit out to land in an unceremonious heap on the grass next to the practice fields. Nico needed to work on his landings.

He groaned, slowly sitting up. His head spun, and every inch of him felt sore. He glanced at the cut on his arm, the only real wound he had gotten on his mission. He had cleaned it up the best he could in the Underworld, but he had refused to admit to his father that he had let some Harpies hurt him. He would deal with it. Maybe he could sneak into the infirmary and grab some bandages.

Once he didn't feel so dizzy, he dragged himself to his feet. A full day of rest hadn't been enough, and he was absolutely exhausted. All he wanted to do was get back to his cabin and curl up in bed for the rest of the week.

As he trooped through the camp, it was eerily quiet. He was a little unsettled until he realized that everyone was probably at dinner. He relaxed a little, pleased that he wouldn't have to talk to anyone until tomorrow.

He was halfway to his cabin when the door to the Aphrodite cabin flew open and a girl rushed out. She was younger than him by a few years and Nico didn't recognize her. She was trying to force her blonde hair into a ponytail as she sprinted in the direction of the pavilion, obviously late for dinner. When she saw Nico she ground to a halt, her hair half up, and stared at him.

Nico stopped and stared back. For a few moments neither of them moved. Nico was frowning, confused, and her mouth had dropped open.

Finally, she spoke. "Nico di Angelo?" Her voice was hesitant.

"Yes?"

She let out a squeak, spun around, and sprinted towards the pavilion, her hair flying loose in her haste.

Nico felt a wave of cold wash over him as he stared after her. He hadn't realized that the campers were so scared of him. He had thought maybe they were getting over it, but if they were going to scream and run every time they looked at him… maybe it hadn't been a good idea to come back.

He scowled, shoving his hands into the pockets of his black jeans and trudging towards his cabin. He would rethink his decision in the morning. Now, he wanted to sleep.

He had just mounted the steps to his cabin when a shout from behind him made him jump. He turned around and his jaw almost dropped in surprise.

A crowd of people were running towards him. As they approached, he realized that he recognized them all. Jason, Piper, Percy, Annabeth- even Frank and Hazel were all running towards him. And at the front was the Aphrodite girl, her hair flying behind her, an elated grin on her face.

"I told you I found him!" she shouted, pointing at him.

Nico frowned at them all. "What are you-"

He was cut off when Jason threw himself at him. He let out a small 'oomph' as the wind was knocked out of him, staggering under the weight of Jason's hug. He blinked, startled, before squirming out of his grip.

"What in Hades are you doing?" he asked.

"Where have you been?" Jason finally released him and looked him all over as if checking to make sure he was in one piece.

"What do you-"

"Nico!"

This time it was Hazel who threw herself at him. He wrapped his arms around her automatically, conceding because she was his sister. He was alarmed when he felt her shoulders shaking. She was crying.

Nico drew away, gripping her arms and looking at her. "Hazel? What's wrong?"

Hazel wiped her eyes, shaking her head. "I was so worried about you," she said, reaching out and running her thumb over his cheek. She sniffed and narrowed her eyes. "Where have you been?"

"The Underworld," Nico said. He glanced over her shoulder where the rest of his friends waited. The Aphrodite girl had fallen to the back, looking out of place. And next to her-

Nico's heart skipped a beat when he saw Will standing there, staring at him. Their eyes met, and to Nico's surprise Will didn't smile at him. He just stared at him with a blank expression, his face drawn and pale.

"Did something happen?" Nico asked, tearing his gaze away from Will and looking back at his sister. "What's going on?"

Hazel was glaring at him. Nico released her quickly, taking a step back.

"Just what were you doing in the Underworld?" she asked, her voice deathly quiet. It carried over the silent group of demigods behind her.

"Father sent for me," Nico said, bewildered. "He needed some help with-"

"You didn't think to _tell_ anyone?"

Nico stared at her. "Huh?"

"We've been worried _sick_ , you idiot!" Hazel said, raising her voice. "You've been gone nearly a _week_ , Nico! We had no idea where you were and we couldn't even get an Iris message through-"

"I don't get them in the Underworld, you know that."

"NO, I DON'T KNOW THAT!" Hazel shouted at him. Nico, who had never been shouted at by the normally quiet Hazel, took another step back towards his door.

"Hazel-"

"No, Nico, I don't want to hear it. We thought you'd been _kidnapped._ We thought you'd run away! We've had both camps looking for you for the past five days with no sign of you, and you've been running errands for Dad? What in Hades is wrong with you?"

"It wasn't a big deal!" Nico was starting to panic now. All of his friends were staring at him, Hazel was yelling at him, and no matter how many times he scanned the crowd, he couldn't catch sight of Will anymore. Not that he was really looking; the son of Apollo tended to stick out, and Nico was just surprised that he couldn't see his blond hair or bright blue eyes. That was all. Where had he gone?

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?"

Nico blinked and looked back at Hazel, whose eyes were still full of tears. She looked more upset than angry now, and Nico felt a twinge of guilt.

"I'm sorry," he said, focusing on her. "I didn't think it would be a big deal."

"Yeah, well, it is." Hazel sniffed, rubbing her eyes. Nico realized how tired she looked, as though she hadn't had a good night's sleep in a few days. The guilt was gnawing at his stomach now. But how was he supposed to know Hazel would cause a camp-wide panic? When she was set on something, she knew how to get others to help her out.

Frank stepped forward and laid a hesitant hand on Hazel's shoulder. He shot a look at Nico that said clearly: _Nice going, kid._ Nico wanted to shrink back in the shadows.

"Just… tell us next time," Jason said, his voice weak. It looked as though Hazel's panic had worn on him, as well.

"I'm sorry," Nico said again, feeling very small suddenly. His thoughts kept straying back to his bed, which was only a few steps behind him. The added stress of everything left him feeling empty and more tired than he had been before. If he didn't get some sleep soon, he felt he was going to pass out.

"It's not us you should be apologizing to," Annabeth spoke up. Her arms were crossed, and she was glaring at Nico. Despite himself, Nico narrowed his eyes at her, unconsciously daring her to try anything. Her gaze hardened. "You need to talk to Will."

Nico's glare slid off his face immediately. "Will?" he asked. "What about Will? Is something wrong?"

Annabeth's expression softened slightly. She glanced over her shoulder and then frowned. "Will?" She turned and peered at the back of the group before turning back around. "He was right here."

"I think he slipped off once he saw Nico," Percy said. "Poor guy's probably exhausted."

"Exhausted?" Nico asked. When no one looked ready to explain, he narrowed his eyes and raised his voice. " _What's wrong with Will_?"

Everyone looked at him, and Nico resisted the urge to shift uncomfortably.

Percy's lips twitched, the first sign of a smile Nico had seen since he'd gotten there. "Worried about Will, Nico?"

Annabeth jabbed him sharply in the ribs, and Percy winced. "Not the time, Kelp for brains."

Percy muttered something that Nico didn't hear, but he didn't care at the moment. He turned to Hazel, who was still standing next to him.

"What's wrong with Will?" he asked, dismayed when it came out like begging. He cleared his throat and tried to school his expression into something neutral. "If he needs help, I'd like to know. I kind of, uh, owe him one. You know, from the infirmary. I owe him."

Hazel had a funny look on her face. She shook her head. "He's run himself ragged the past few days," she said. "Between looking for you and working in the infirmary-"

"Looking for me?"

"He led almost every search party," Jason said. "Last night his siblings actually had to lock him in his cabin so he could get some sleep, but they said he spent the whole night pacing or sitting awake. You've had him real worried, Nico."

Nico frowned. That didn't sound like Will. Sure, he cared about all of the campers, and would get upset if any of them disappeared, but he also had one of the coolest heads in camp. He would never run himself into the ground like that. As a doctor he knew that you could only help someone if you yourself are healthy enough to do so. Losing sleep over the search wouldn't have done anyone any good.

Obviously there was something else wrong with Will. Nico needed to talk to him, to find out if he could help him.

He did owe him one, after all.

"I'm going to go find him," he said, hopping down the stairs and pushing through the crowd.

"Nico!"

Nico spun around and glared at Jason, who had followed him. The son of Jupiter winced slightly but stood his ground.

"What?"

"Try the lake," Jason said quietly.

Nico felt his expression soften. He nodded curtly before turning and walking away, his sword swinging at his hip.

It was a good thing that Jason had told him where to look, because the lake was the last place Nico would have thought to look. He had been planning on going to the infirmary first, but redirected his course towards the sandy beach. The sun was nearly set, and he used the dying light to guide him down to the water.

When he reached the edge of the sand he stopped and scanned the beach. Sure enough, a lone figure sat by the water, close enough for the water to touch his toes. Flip flops lay discarded in the sand next to him.

Nico walked clumsily across the sand, his feet slipping and sliding. It had been a long time since he had come down to the water. It always ended up reminding him of Percy, so he had avoided it like the plague for as long as he could remember. Now he was focused entirely on the hunched figure in front of him, staring out at the sunset.

Nico stopped a few feet away. Even though he must have heard him approach, Will didn't look up. Nico stood there for a few moments, waiting for Will to speak, and when it seemed that he had no intention to, Nico spoke up awkwardly.

"Are you alright?"

Will didn't respond for a moment. "I'm fine."

Nico hesitated. That was what he had come for. Assurance that Will was still fine, still _Will._ He could go now. He could go and take a _nap_.

Then he realized that no, he couldn't. So he sat.

He stayed far away from the water and several feet away from Will, and it took him a moment of adjusting to get his sword into a comfortable position. He sat with his legs crossed, feeling very awkward and unsure of what to do. Oh, Hades, would he have to _comfort_ Will? Nico was not cut out for this sort of thing.

"Hazel said you've been, uh, distracted recently," he said.

"I've had a lot on my mind."

"Oh."

Will didn't say anything else. Nico shifted his gaze away from him and stared out at the water. The sun had disappeared beneath the horizon and the sky still glowed a brilliant orange, but it was fading fast. Soon it would be dark, and then it would be curfew, and they would have to go.

"Where'd you go?"

It took Nico a moment to realize that Will had spoken to him. Then he thought, _Of course he's talking to you, idiot, you're the only one on the stupid beach._

"The Underworld," Nico said. "My father- Hades needed some help with something." Nico waited for Will to scold him for shadow traveling, and when nothing came, he glanced at him. Will was staring straight ahead, his expression blank. "It was only a quick jump, I wasn't shadow traveling much. He just has odd jobs for me to do sometimes. You know, Harpies, uncooperative spirits, that sort of thing." No response. "It's like chores, except I don't get an allowance." It was a weak joke, but all Nico ever had were weak jokes, and normally Will spared him from feeling too awkward and laughed. He stayed silent this time, though. Nico frowned at him. "Look, did something happen?"

"Except for the fact that you don't seem to care about any of us enough to tell us where you were going? No, nothing happened."

"I told you that it was no big deal! What, do I have to make a camp-wide announcement every time I want to go somewhere?"

"You need to tell someone! I was worried sick, Nico!" Will stopped, his next words catching in his throat. " _We_ were worried sick. Everyone was. Your sister came all the way from California to look for you."

Nico rubbed the back of his neck. There was that guilt again. "Yeah, about Hazel- listen, thanks for humoring her. With the search parties and stuff. It means a lot."

Will finally turned and looked at him. His eyes were wide with disbelief. " _Excuse me?_ "

"I know she can be a bit overprotective sometimes, and she probably made the whole camp look, so thanks for, you know, playing along."

Will stared at him for another few moments. Nico tried to keep eye contact but eventually let his gaze fall away, uncomfortable.

"You are the stupidest person I've ever met," he said.

Nico looked back up again, scowling at him. Will met his glare evenly. "What?"

"You think we were all just _playing along_? How thick can you get?"

"What are you talking about, Solace?"

"You think Frank was playing along when he volunteered to scout New York as an eagle all day to look for you? You think Jason was playing along when he demanded audience with his father to ask about you, only to come back fuming because he had refused to tell him anything? You think Percy was playing along when he got every single creature in the ocean to look out for you? You think I was playing along when I led every _damn search party_ because I don't have any special powers and can't do anything else? Do you think I was _playing along_ when I prayed to Hades every single meal and ended up with a pile of bones in my pillowcase when I shouted at him for not answering?"

"You shouted at my father?"

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT, DI ANGELO!"

Nico jumped. He had never heard Will shout before. The sound sent a chill down his spine- a very uncomfortable chill. A wave of shame washed over him, far worse than the guilt he had felt for upsetting Hazel. Hazel's feelings made sense. Will shouting- that didn't.

Will dropped his head into his hands. When he spoke, his voice was muffled. "I thought I was never going to see you again."

They both fell silent. The only noise was the lapping of the water and the growing buzz of crickets in the woods behind them. The sky was beginning to darken, casting shadows across the beach.

Nico regretted the next word that left his mouth as soon as he'd said it. "So?"

Will slowly lifted his head, turning to look at him. He looked crushed. "You really think that, don't you?" It wasn't much of a question.

Nico squirmed uncomfortably, aware that Will was staring at him, and that he wasn't angry anymore. If he wasn't angry, what was he? Disappointed? Upset his patient was so down on himself?

"Think what?" he asked.

"That we were all just playing along. That that's all we ever do- play along. That's what you think, isn't it?"

Nico frowned. "I don't understand what you mean."

Will shook his head. "No, you wouldn't," he said, almost to himself.

"What are you talking about, Solace?"

"Are we friends?"

The question was so abrupt it took Nico a moment to realize what he meant. It took him another moment to figure out how to answer it. "I, uh, I don't- are we?"

"Why do you have to ask me? You have as much say in the matter as I do."

"Well, yeah, but- I don't have friends, Will."

"So we aren't."

"I don't know! No, we aren't, I guess."

"Why not?"

" _Because I don't have friends, Will_!"

"Why?"

Will said all of this in the same calm voice, oblivious to how flustered Nico was getting beside him. Nico grabbed a fistful of sand, letting it leak out of the cracks of his fingers. Irritation flared inside him.

"Because I'm the son of Hades!" Nico snapped at him. "I represent death, and people don't like to be around things that represent death! My powers scare people. I can raise the dead, Will. I travel in shadows and hang out with skeletons and have a bedroom in the Underworld and- and-"

Nico stopped, heat rushing into his face. He hadn't meant for all that to come out at once. So far Will had tolerated him, even gone so far as to care for his wellbeing, mostly because he didn't really know who Nico was. He just thought he was helping another lonely camper. Now he'll realize what a mistake that had all been.

Nico waited for Will to say something, anything to let him know what he felt about all of this. He wanted Will to yell at him, or tell him to go away, or talk about how disgusted he was that he had let Nico into his infirmary, that he had spent three days taking _care_ of him. Nico's heart twanged when Will didn't speak. He couldn't even say anything to him.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. "I'll go now." He pushed himself to his feet and turned to go.

Nico stumbled when a hand closed around his arm. It would have startled him enough even if it hadn't been his injured arm. He hissed in pain and shook the hand off, drawing away.

Will frowned at him, then at his hand, which was now covered in dried blood. When he looked back up at Nico, his eyes were narrowed. "You're hurt," he accused.

"It's just a scratch."

"Shut up, Nico."

Will reached up and grabbed his hand, carefully avoiding his injury, and gave him a sharp tug. Nico fell back to the ground beside him, blinking. Something in the back of his mind wondered why Will had been strong enough to pull Nico to the ground, but a large portion of his thoughts were devoted to the panic-inducing fact that Will was _holding his hand._ This was the second time this had happened, and Nico was no more comfortable with it than he had been the first time.

"You should have told me immediately," Will chastised. He seemed to have dropped his mood from earlier and was back in doctor-mode. Nico was glad that Will was himself again. He hated when people got emotional.

"It's just a scratch," Nico repeated.

"That I can heal in my sleep," Will said, rolling his eyes. He moved his hands up Nico's arm, leaving his fingers tingling from where he had just been gripping them. "Harpy claw?" he asked, bringing the wound close to his face and squinting at it. Nico swallowed when he felt Will's warm breath on his skin.

"How'd you know?"

"Harpy claws are poisonous, stupid. It's not too bad, but another day and you would be very, very uncomfortable." Will brushed his fingers next to the cut, his movements gentle and precise. Healing hands, that's what Will had. They practically thrummed with Apollo's blessing, and every time Will touched him Nico felt shivers running up his spine. He had to have some powerful healing magic to do that.

"Stay still," he instructed. Nico tried to say "Okay" but his mouth didn't seem able to make any words.

Will's grip got steadier, stronger. He closed his eyes and began murmuring a prayer in Greek under his breath. Nico tried to follow the words but was distracted by the voice that spoke them. Will's voice was smooth and light, dancing in the air. Nico had heard him hum to himself in the infirmary enough times to know that Will hadn't gotten the gift of song from his dad. Nico would never say it, but even he knew that Will was terribly out of tune every time he tried to sing. But Will's voice had its own kind of magic that had nothing to do with his father's blessings. Will's voice was all his own.

Nico was so distracted by listening to Will he didn't even have time to be embarrassed as Will ran his fingers up and down Nico's arm. Slowly, the dull ache Nico had had in his arm for the past few days disappeared. The first few times that Will had healed Nico's injuries Nico had stared at them, captivated as the skin was leaked of its sharp red color and the skin knit itself back together. He knew that the same incredible magic was happening at that very moment, but instead he used what little light he had to stare at Will, letting his eyes trace his features. His eyebrows, scrunched together in concentration; his nose, just a little bit too long at the end to be considered completely normal, but Nico thought it suited Will completely; his mouth, arched like a bow, and moving smoothly as he whispered his prayer.

It only took him a minute to heal Nico's arm and sap it of his poison. When he was finished his hands rested on Nico's, finally still. Nico watched as Will's eyes shut and his shoulders relaxed, so he looked like he had fallen asleep where he sat.

"Will?" Nico asked, well aware of their hands. His heart was beating uncomfortably in his chest. "Are you alright?"

Will took a long, slow breath and opened his eyes again, blinking unsteadily at him. He smiled and Nico's heart skipped a beat. "Yeah," he said, "I'm just tired. I haven't been sleeping well, and removing poison requires quite a bit of energy."

Nico wanted to yank his hand away, but he didn't want to embarrass Will, so he kept it as still as he could. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, I'm glad I could help."

Will still didn't lift his hands. Nico was aware that his palm was getting sweaty and felt a flush creep into his cheeks. Oh, Hades, what if Will felt that? Nico wanted to sink into the ground and never come back up.

"Will-" he faltered before pressing on. "If you weren't playing along, then- then what were you doing?"

"I was worrying about my friend," Will said. "And I'm still waiting, by the way."

"For what?"

"For a valid reason you don't have friends."

Nico turned his face away even though Will probably couldn't see him anymore. "I told you. I'm a son of-"

"I don't give a damn who you're the son of."

Nico spun back around, startled, and not just from the fact that Will had actually sworn for once in his life. "What?"

"I said I don't give a damn," Will said calmly. "I don't care that you're the son of Hades, or that your powers all have to do with death. Heck, I think they're cool. Do you know how much I admired you during the first Titan war? When I saw you swoop in and save the day with those skeletons, I wondered if I would ever be as brave or powerful as you."

"Will, I don't think you realize-"

"No, I don't think _you_ realize, Nico. Can you just get it through your thick little head that there are people who care about you? Hazel cares about you. Jason cares about you so much I actually had to ban him from visiting you in the infirmary, something I've never had to do before. Every time I visit Coach Hedge and his son the only thing he asks me about is you and whether you're okay. Everyone in this camp cares about you, Nico, but you're too wrapped up in your belief that you're un-loveable to realize that you have people out there who _do_ love you." Will hesitated. "There are people here who love you a whole lot."

"They _think_ they love me," Nico muttered. "They think they do, and I appreciate it. But they don't _know_ me. I've done things, Will, things I'm not proud of, and as soon as everyone sees who I really am-"

"They'll care about you even more," Will said adamantly. "We've all done things we're not proud of; we're demigods! No one cares what you've done, Nico. When you disappeared everyone in both camps dropped everything they were doing and looked for you because they _care._ They wouldn't waste their time otherwise."

Nico stared at the ground. Will had let one of his hands drop, but he left the other one on top of Nico's. Nico knew it wasn't accidental anymore. He was trying to comfort him. For some strange reason Nico felt tears prick at his eyes, and he hurriedly blinked them back. The last thing he wanted to do was cry in front of Will.

" _Please_ let us be your friends, Nico," Will pleaded. "We want to help you. _I_ want to help you."

Nico clenched his jaw. He didn't know what to say. His mind was yelling at him, telling him that Will was lying, picking through every word to try and find a hidden message in it. He felt like hundreds of little monsters were jumping around in his head, beating on his skull and trying to make him understand that this _couldn't_ be true, that Will couldn't mean what he was saying. A thousand memories vied for Nico's attention; campers, wide-eyed with fear when he walked into the training arena; Percy frowning at him before turning to Annabeth, a genuine smile lighting up his face at the sight of her; his father glaring at him, unsaid words resounding in Nico's head: _It should have been you._

Nico squeezed his eyes shut, silently begging for them to all to stop. It had gotten worse since his trip to Tartarus, the doubts that would seize him whenever he thought he was getting better. It wasn't fair.

"Nico?" Will sounded worried when Nico didn't respond. Nico wanted to say something to let him know he was alright, but he didn't trust his voice enough. Instead, he slowly twisted his hand until it was palm to palm with Will's. Then he waited with bated breath for Will's reaction.

Will seemed to hesitate slightly, obviously confused. Then, very gently, he squeezed Nico's hand. When the son of Hades didn't draw away, he allowed a smile to creep onto his face and entwined his fingers with Nico's, squeezing again. His hands were warm in Nico's cold grip. _I'm here_ , they seemed to say.

They sat in silence for a long time, hands entwined, and after a while Nico stopped obsessing over whether Will noticed his palms were sweating. He focused instead on the peace of the moment, the sense of belonging that Will carried with him everywhere he went. He always seemed to know how to make everyone he talked to feel wanted. Nico turned all his attention to this, and was surprised when he found it quieted the voices in his mind just a little bit. Every once in a while a particularly bad thought would jump at him and he would squeeze Will's hand, but it always calmed him down when he felt Will squeeze his hand just as firmly back.

After what felt like hours, Nico felt Will slump to the ground. Nico sat up straight, alarmed, and squinted through the darkness. When he realized what had happened, he relaxed. Will had fallen asleep.

It was no wonder. It must have been hours after curfew; Nico was surprised no one had come looking for them yet. Nico hesitated, unsure of what to do. He couldn't just leave Will here.

"Will?" he whispered. He got no response other than a light snore. He grinned. _Will snored._ "Will?" he tried again.

Will's head turned towards him, his mouth falling slightly open. One part of Nico wanted to jump up and run away. The other part was very, very tired after the events of the past week.

He tried to slip his hand out of Will's, but Will seemed to be conscious enough to squeeze even harder. Nico stopped struggling immediately, not wanting to wake him up. He rolled his eyes. He wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Sighing, Nico laid back on the sand and tried to get comfortable. It seemed that he was going to have to wait until Will woke up again. That shouldn't take too long. The temperature was slowly dropping, and although Nico was used to freezing temperatures in the underworld, Will moped around whenever the sun wasn't out. He'd be up and searching for a warm bed in no time.

He shut his eyes for a moment, focusing on the sound of the waves and the feel of Will's hand in his. And in a few minutes, he was fast asleep.

 **A/N: I'm not sure if I'm going to continue this or leave it as a one-shot. Leave me your thoughts! Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

"Oh my gods."

Nico groaned. He tried to lift his hand to rub his eyes, but it was caught underneath something heavy. He blinked a few times, squinting up at the bright sky overhead.

Wait. The sky?

He turned his head only to find himself face-to-face with Will Solace. That's what his hand was trapped under.

With a yelp of alarm Nico yanked his hand back, toppling back into the sand. He sat up, heart beating quickly. This could not be happening. He had _not_ spent the whole night asleep on a beach with _Will Solace._

"Oh my gods," the voice repeated.

Nico turned to see Frank standing there, wearing gym clothes. He was looking back and forth between Will and Nico, his eyes wide and panicked.

"Oh, why does this always happen to me?" he moaned miserably.

"Frank!" Nico said, struggling into a sitting position. Next to him, Will yawned and sat up peacefully, rubbing his eyes.

"Morning," he said to Nico, still half-asleep. He saw Frank and smiled blearily. "Oh, hey Frank. Nice day, isn't it?"

"What are you two _doing_?" Frank hissed, shifting from foot to foot. He looked over his shoulder as though expecting someone to swoop in and snatch them all up. "Were you- were you out here all night?"

"I guess we fell asleep," Will said, stretching. He yawned again, looking completely at ease. He glanced at Nico with a grin. "Oops."

Nico wasn't as amused. He scrambled to his feet, staggering slightly. His limbs ached from sleeping on the ground all night, and the bottom of his jeans were wet from the water. He readjusted his sword, which was digging uncomfortably into his hip.

"It wasn't- we weren't-" Nico said hurriedly. He glanced down at Will, who was blinking up at them with tired eyes. He ground his teeth. It figured he wouldn't be the least bit bothered being caught like this. But if he wasn't bothered… why was Nico? "We were just talking and it was late and we were both tired and-"

"Nico?"

Nico groaned when Hazel walked over. She looked much more well-rested than she had the night before, and even managed to smile at him when she walked over.

"Hey, I waited up for you last night, but I guess I fell asleep before you got back to the cabin. I have to admit, though, I'm surprised you got up so-"

Her eyes fell on Will, who was still sprawled out on the ground, and Nico, who was covered in sand from head to toe. Her mouth fell open in a tiny little 'O' of surprise.

"Oh," she said.

"Hazel-" Nico said hurriedly.

Will finally got to his feet. He stretched, groaning as his shoulders popped. "Morning, Hazel," he greeted her cheerfully. "Nico and I had a little camp-out last night."

Hazel's eyes went back and forth between Will and Nico. Nico took a step away from Will, his arms wrapped around himself. He felt very vulnerable all of a sudden, and it didn't help that Will seemed to think that this was all completely normal. Nico kept his eyes fixed on the ground, unable to look at his sister.

"I think I'm going to head back and change," Will said, unperturbed by everyone's silence. "See you later, Nico."

He scooped his flip flops off the ground and walked off with a bounce in his step.

Hazel was still staring at Nico. Frank looked awkwardly between the two of them before motioning towards camp. "I'm going to, uh- I'm just going to- yeah." He turned and practically sprinted off, leaving Hazel and Nico alone.

Nico stared at his feet. His shoes were soaked through and covered in sand, and his socks squished uncomfortably in them. He gripped his arms, refusing to look at Hazel. He didn't want to know what she thought.

Hazel took a few steps closer to him, but Nico didn't look up until she touched his face. When he saw her expression he was surprised to see that she was struggling to repress a smile.

"You should take a look in the mirror," she said, brushing some sand off of his cheek. "You look quite a sight."

"Hazel-"

"You shouldn't have stayed out all night," she said, brushing sand off of his arms as well. She motioned for him to turn and he dutifully did so, cheeks burning as she swept off the back of his t-shirt. "It was freezing last night; you could have caught a cold!"

"Hazel, it wasn't-"

"Nico, stop," Hazel said.

He turned back around to see that she was still smiling.

"I'm glad you and Will made up," she said.

"I wouldn't say we _made up_ , exactly," Nico said, fumbling over his words.

"Oh, so you sleep under the stars with just anyone?"

Nico clenched his fists when he saw that Hazel was trying not to laugh at him. Was _no one_ going to take this seriously? "It's not funny!" he shouted. Hazel stopped laughing immediately, looking shocked. "I just- I don't want to talk about it! Leave me alone!"

He brushed past her and stomped off the beach. He half-expected Hazel to run after him, and felt a stab of disappointment when she didn't.

The rest of the camp was just starting to wake up. A few campers trickled out of their cabins or stood on their porches, talking to one another. All of them fell silent and looked up when Nico stalked past, leaving a trail of sand behind him as his clothes shifted. A few of them glanced over at the Apollo cabin and jabbed each other, whispering excitedly in each other's ears.

A particularly unpleasant Ares camper called out to him as he passed. "Will went back to his cabin, di Angelo!" He was smirking. Nico resisted the urge to chuck a skeleton at him and hurried past, grinding his teeth.

When he reached his cabin he threw open the door and slammed it shut behind him. In the privacy of his cabin he allowed himself to press his back against the door, hands covering his face. What had he done? He was going to be the laughing-stock of the camp. And _Will_ \- he had seemed to brush the whole thing off, but he had also run off as quickly as he could. What did he think of all this? He was probably thinking that he had made a terrible mistake.

Nico dragged himself over to his side of the room. On the other side, Hazel's bed was neatly made, her suitcase lying on the covers.

Nico unbuckled his sword and laid it to the side. He wriggled out of his wet, sandy clothes, leaving them on the floor, and pulled on a new black t-shirt and jeans. Then he sat on his bed and buried his face in his hands again.

He wanted to curl up in a ball and hide from everyone for the next few weeks, but he didn't even feel tired. In fact, he was buzzing with energy, a feeling he rarely had. He had slept better last night than he had in years, even though he had been half submerged in water. He felt jumpy, and every time there was a shout from outside he looked up, expecting someone to burst through the door. What he and Will had done had to have repercussions. Nico didn't want Will to get in trouble just for trying to comfort him.

Nico sat back on his bed, pressing himself into the corner, and wrapped his arms around his knees. He let his head hang. What had he done?

It felt like years passed before someone knocked on his door. Nico jumped, frowning at it.

"Go away, Hazel!" he shouted. He felt guilty for taking it out on her, but he didn't feel like trying to explain himself just yet.

He thought she had listened to him until the knocking came again, more insistent this time. Growling under his breath, Nico clambered out of bed and stalked over, throwing it open. "I said- Jason?"

Jason's face was uncharacteristically serious. "Is what everyone saying true? Did you sleep with Will?"

Nico's mouth dropped open. "I- I did not-"

Jason's face broke into a grin. "Dude, I'm messing with you. I meant, did you fall asleep in the same vicinity as Will?"

That didn't make Nico feel any better. He groaned, turning and walking back into his cabin. Jason followed him, shutting the door behind him.

"It was an accident," he said miserably. "We were just talking and it was late and I was tired from the Underworld and he was tired from the infirmary and we just- we weren't even close to each other!" He winced, the lie weak to even his ears. "Well- not that close."

"Oh, man!" Jason hurried over to Nico's bed and hopped on it, crossing his legs. He looked up at Nico with a grin. "Tell. Me. Everything."

Nico walked over and stood next to him. He crossed his arms defensively. "What have you heard?" he asked, hesitating.

Jason shrugged. "I heard that a load of campers saw Will come up from the beach, covered in sand, and that a few minutes later you did too. I also heard that neither you nor Will came to your cabins last night. That coupled with the fact that Hazel and Frank are both _terrible_ liars makes for some very juicy gossip."

Nico sighed and dropped to the bed beside Jason. "Nothing happened. _Really,_ " he said when Jason raised his eyebrows at him. Nico rubbed his hands together, brushing some sand off of his wrists. "Will and I were just talking."

"About what?"

"About…" Nico hesitated. "Stuff. A lot of stuff. And then we were just sitting there quietly and he fell asleep, and then I fell asleep, and we woke up with Frank standing over us looking like we had just murdered someone."

Jason laughed. "Frank always gets to walk in on moments like these."

"Moments? What moments?"

Jason shook his head. "Nothing, nothing. So… nothing whatsoever happened last night?"

"No," Nico said firmly.

Jason sighed. "Damn."

" _What_?"

"Oh, come on, Nico, I see the way you look at him, and I see the way he looks at you."

Nico stared at him. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Jason frowned. "Really?" When Nico just stared at him blankly, he raised his eyebrows. "Huh, you really don't see it."

"See _what?_ "

"Nico, do you like Will?"

"Of course I do. He's a good… friend."

"No, I mean, do you _like_ Will?"

"Do I- oh. _Oh._ " Nico got very hot all of a sudden. "Oh, gods, Jason, no. No, of course not."

"Are you sure?"

"Why the Hades would you even ask?" Nico knew his face was bright red. "Just because I'm- just because I liked Percy doesn't mean I like every single guy that gives me the time of day!"

"You know I didn't mean it like that. Will's an awesome guy, and you're-"

"Not his type!" Nico said. He felt a rush of embarrassment when Jason looked triumphant. "Not that I care."

"Nico-"

"He's probably not even- there's no possible way he could like me like that," Nico muttered, looking away. When Jason snorted, he glared at him. "Shut up, Grace."

"I didn't say anything."

"Gah!" Nico grabbed his head in both hands. "I don't like Will, Will doesn't like me, okay? We were talking last night and fell asleep, end of subject. Let it go."

"But-"

"Jason."

Nico's voice was so dangerous Jason reluctantly let the matter drop. He crossed his arms, sulking, and waited until Nico sat back up again.

"Is everyone really talking about it?" he asked weakly.

Jason's expression softened. "I wouldn't say that," he said. "People are a bit… curious. Yesterday you were missing, and today you were seen walking off the beach covered in sand with Will Solace. We may be demigods, but we're also teenagers, and teenagers _gossip._ But it's really not that bad."

Nico moaned and flopped back on his pillow. "I'm not going out there."

"You have to; we're already late for breakfast and you need to eat."

"No."

"No one is going to care, Nico!"

"That's nice. I'm still not going."

"Will is going to pitch a fit if you skip a meal."

" _I don't care what Will does_!" Nico growled.

Jason held his hands up. "Alright, alright, sorry I brought it up." He got to his feet. "You're going to get breakfast, though."

"Make me," Nico muttered, turning and pressing his face into his pillow.

He heard Jason sigh. "Fine," he said. Then strong arms seized him around the middle and Nico suddenly found his world flipped upside down.

It took him a few moments to realize that the wall of orange he was looking at was Jason's back. Jason had actually thrown him over his shoulder.

"Hey!" Nico shouted, kicking his feet. They lashed out into the air harmlessly as Jason crossed the cabin and opened the door, stepping outside. "Let me down!"

"You've been in the Underworld for a week and I doubt you've had anything substantial to eat. If I can lift you this easily, you need breakfast."

" _Put me down, Jason!_ "

"Make me."

Nico growled. He wanted to summon something, just to freak Jason out, but he was still weak from all of the powers he had used in the Underworld, and he still wasn't fully recovered from his trip with the Athena Parthenos. The last thing he wanted to do was pass out on Jason's shoulder. Instead he settled for crossing his arms, his nose squashed against Jason's back, and trying to look as dignified as he could with all the blood rushing to his head.

Nico knew he had reached the Pavilion when he heard voices. He gave another kick. "Put me down!"

"Not if you're going to run away."

"I won't!"

Jason was quiet for a moment. "I don't believe you," he decided.

"Jason, I swear to-"

"What the- Nico?"

Jason stopped. He bent down and flipped Nico upright, setting him down on the ground. Nico stumbled, the blood rushing out of his head and leaving him dizzy. Someone grabbed his arm, steadying him.

"Jason, what'd you do to him?"

It was Annabeth. Nico yanked his arm away and glared at Jason, who looked smug. Piper was standing beside him, amused.

"I brought him to breakfast," Jason said.

Annabeth glanced at Percy, who was standing beside her. Percy looked unconvinced. "By kidnapping him?" he asked.

"It was the only way he'd come," Jason protested.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Listen, Nico, we-"

"I didn't sleep with Will Solace," Nico growled.

He saw Percy flush bright red. Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "Really? So you two didn't have a sleepover out on the beach?"

"No! I mean- okay, we were sleeping, and we were on the same beach, but that doesn't mean- it was an accident!" Nico threw his hands into the air. "That's it, I'm going back to my cabin."

He turned and started marching off, but Jason hooked a finger in the back of his t-shirt and pulled him back. Nico shrugged him off and glared. " _Don't touch me!_ "

Jason rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Nico, just come in and get something to eat. We promise we won't mention Will. _Right?_ "

He looked around at all of his friends, who nodded.

Nico sighed. "Fine," he muttered, stomping past them into the pavilion. He didn't feel like arguing anymore, and besides- he _was_ hungry. His father tried, but food in the Underworld just wasn't filling, and Nico hadn't been able to stomach pomegranates since the jar incident.

When he walked in he half expected the pavilion to fall silent. He breathed a sigh of relief when only a few campers glanced his way and then turned back to their meals. Jason had been right. No one seemed to really care.

Not bothering to wait for his friends, Nico started towards the Hades table. He kept his eyes firmly away from the Apollo table, focused on his destination. As he passed the Aphrodite table they all started giggling, but one glare in their direction shut them up immediately.

Nico sat down at the empty Hades table and pulled his plate close to him. It filled with a selection of eggs, bacon, and potatoes when he sat down. He was just picking up his fork when someone dropped into the seat across from him.

Nico looked up and scowled at Jason. "What are you doing?"

"Eating breakfast," Jason said. He pulled a plate close to him as Piper sat down next to him.

"Jason and I were going to practice our archery skills this morning," she said. "Do you want to come, Nico?"

Nico stared at them. "Neither of you have any archery skills."

"Exactly why we need to practice!" said Jason.

"But they're nuts!" Percy said, dropping into the seat next to Nico. Nico stared as he and Annabeth sat down at the table, plates popping up in front of them. "You can't milk nuts!"

Jason frowned at him. "What are you talking about, Jackson?"

"Almond milk!" Percy exclaimed. The goblet in front of him filled on command and Percy groaned. "I don't mean I _want_ almond milk, I was complaining about the impossibility of its existence!"

"Drink up, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said with a grin, filling her own glass with orange juice.

"But I don't _like_ almond milk!"

"You guys can't sit here!" Nico said, looking back and forth between them all with a frown. "This is the Hades table!"

"And it has a lovely view," said Piper.

"Relax, dude," Percy said, "the gods have more to worry about than who's sitting at whose table." His hand snaked towards Annabeth's goblet. She slapped his hand and he quickly withdrew it, pouting. "Oh, come on, Wise Girl, I'm dying with thirst over here!"

"Drink your almond milk."

" _Annabeth!_ "

"We want to sit with you," Jason said resolutely, taking a bite of toast. "Eat."

Nico glared at him one last time before going to his breakfast.

A few minutes later they were joined by another couple, who approached hesitantly. Nico looked up to see Hazel and Frank standing there, looking awkward.

"Nico?" Hazel asked. "Listen, I'm sorry about earlier-"

"Don't," Nico said. He smiled weakly at them. " _I'm_ sorry. You didn't do anything wrong. I was just… upset."

Hazel let out a smile of relief. She dragged Frank over to the table and sat down next to Nico. "Oh, thank goodness. I can't stand fighting you."

"Neither can I," said Nico.

"And if you don't want to talk about it-"

"I don't."

"Then we won't."

Not another word was said of the matter.

Nico was very surprised to find, halfway through breakfast, that he was actually enjoying it. Annabeth and Piper had gotten into a friendly debate about dagger techniques, and Nico joined in whenever he remembered a piece of useful information. Frank was talking to Jason about building shrines in New Rome, and Hazel kept a steady discussion going with Nico about him coming to visit her in a few weeks.

"Are you heading back soon?" Nico asked.

"I think Frank and I will hang out here for another few days," Hazel said, "but we really should get back soon. Reyna needs all the help she can get getting the camp back in order."

Things were going quite smoothly until Jason and Percy started arguing about teams for the upcoming capture the flag team.

"The Hades cabin is on the red team this month," Jason said, glaring at him.

"Think again, Sparkplug, he said he'd be on the blue team!" said Percy. "Right, Nico?"

"I actually wasn't planning on playing," Nico said, taking a bite of eggs.

"You have to play!" protested Jason. "The red team needs you!"

"The blue team needs you!"

"Why are you two on opposite teams anyways?" Piper asked. "I thought your bromance was still going strong."

"We can't have too many children of the Big Three on one team," Percy explained.

"Yeah," said Jason, "and I'd rather have Nico on my team than Jackson."

"Well I'd rather have Nico than Grace!" Percy waggled a piece of bacon at him, trying to look menacing, but the result was more comical than threatening.

"Why don't you- I don't know- ask Nico?" Frank asked.

Jason and Percy spun on Nico, who raised his eyebrows at them.

"I'll clean your cabin for a week," Jason offered.

"I won't kidnap you and force you to come to meals," Percy said, smiling victoriously.

Nico pointed at Percy with a grin. "That's a good one."

Jason's jaw dropped. "I was trying to _help_ you!"

"Shut it, Four Eyes."

"You listen here, Jackson-"

Percy's eyes fell on something behind Jason. He opened his mouth, glanced at Nico, then shut it again. After a few moments he said hesitantly, "Uh, I know we promised not to talk about Will, but-"

"Percy, we promised we wouldn't," Annabeth said, glaring at him.

"Yes, but-"

"No, Percy," Annabeth said.

"But he's-"

"Nico?"

Nico's head shot up so fast it hurt his neck. Will was standing behind Jason, dressed in a fresh camp t-shirt and a pair of jeans. His hair was damp from a shower, and he was grinning- like always. Nico dimly heard Percy mutter to Annabeth, "I was just trying to warn him."

"Can I sit?" he asked Jason. Jason glanced at Nico apologetically before scooting over to make room on the bench. "Thanks," Will said, sitting down.

The table was completely silent as Will sat. Nico stared down at his plate, his cheeks burning. _Now_ he could feel the eyes of the other campers on his table. Will never sat anywhere but the Apollo table. As head counselor, it was kind of forbidden for him to even skip meals. And now here he was, sitting at the Hades table, staring at Nico.

Annabeth suddenly cleared her throat and turned to Percy, who was staring unabashedly between Will and Nico. "What were you saying about your dad's temple in New Rome?"

"Huh?" Percy glanced at her. "I wasn't- oh, you mean- yeah, I was just thinking that maybe I could spruce it up a bit-"

"I could help!" Jason said loudly, turning away from Will. "I'm going to be over there anyways, and-"

"Yeah, man, I'd appreciate that!"

The table filled with awkward small talk, each of them trying to turn their attention away from Nico and Will and not make the two of them uncomfortable. They were failing miserably, but Nico appreciated the effort.

"Hey, Nico," Will said.

Nico forced his eyes up. Will was watching him with a frown, but when he met his gaze he smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners as his face lit up. "I just wanted to check in with you," he said. "I see that your arm's healed alright, but if there's anything else-"

"I'm fine," Nico interrupted him, well aware that the others were hanging on their every word. He winced when he realized that Jason and Percy were loudly discussing the weather.

Will was unperturbed by Nico's obvious disinterest. "I still think you should stop by the infirmary after breakfast," he said. "You know what they say, it's better safe than-"

"I think it's better if I don't," Nico said, his heart skipping a beat. He just wanted this conversation over with as quickly as possible. He had no idea why Will was still trying to talk to him after what had happened last night, after what everyone was surely _saying_ about him. He didn't want to have to think about it more than he already had.

Will stopped mid-sentence. Next to him, Percy's analysis of the clouds overhead faltered.

"I disagree," Jason said loudly, "that cloud is definitely a bunny, not a ballerina."

Percy looked insulted. He seemed to forget that they were just having the conversation to make things less awkward as he glared at Jason. " _Excuse me_ , Grace? I don't see any ears on that ballerina. Show me the bunny ears, then we'll talk."

Will leaned forward, a frown on his face. "Look, I just want to help, Nico."

"I think you've helped enough," Nico snapped at him. He felt Hazel's arms brush his arm, silently warning him, but he yanked his arm away. He felt unusually furious all of a sudden, but not at Will. Well, yes, he was angry because of Will, but he wasn't angry _at_ him. He was angry at the way Will sent shivers up his spine whenever he touched him, and the way that, even now, his gaze made Nico want to leap up and touch the moon and swan dive off of a cliff at the same time. All he knew was that he wanted those feelings to _go away._ Heat rose to his cheeks, and a voice inside of him was shouting at him to shut up, but the words flew out of his mouth automatically, barbed wire lacing the air in front of him, warning everyone to stay away.

Will narrowed his eyes at him. "What the heck, Nico?"

"The whole camp is talking about your _help_ , Solace," Nico shot at him.

Will straightened, his expression smoothing into a blank one. "This is about last night." When Nico didn't respond, he rolled his eyes, looking disgusted. "You act as though I held you _captive._ "

"You sure as hell didn't let me leave until I sat through your therapy!"

"I was-"

"Trying to help, I get it," Nico said, clenching his fork so hard his knuckles turned white.

Will's eyes flashed and Nico resisted the urge to shrink away, combating this impulse by glaring at Will even harder.

"I was trying to be a good friend," Will said, his voice hardly above a whisper.

"I told you, _I don't have friends!_ "

The small talk at the table died completely. Everyone was staring down at their plates, not looking at Will and Nico's showdown.

Will scowled, the expression foreign in his usual sunny face. "That much is obvious."

Nico really did shrink away from that comment. He crossed his arms, lifting his chin and staring at Will, who got to his feet. He bit the inside of his cheek when Will leaned forward, glaring at him.

"If you keep trying to push people away, di Angelo, eventually they're going to stop trying," he said.

Nico met his eyes. "Then they're getting the message."

Something flashed in Will's eyes. His jaw clenched. He straightened up and turned away from Nico. "Then consider it done. I'll leave you alone." He glanced at the others, who didn't look at him. "Sorry for disturbing your breakfast."

And he marched away.

Dead silence rang at the table. Nico threw his fork down, scowling.

It was Annabeth who broke the silence. She turned to Nico, her face set in a glare. "What the _hell_ was that, Nico?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Nico said mechanically.

Jason shook his head, looking upset. "That was way over the line, Nico."

"But-"

"Jason's right." Nico turned to Hazel in disbelief. She was frowning at him. "Will was trying to be a good friend. Just because you're a bit embarrassed-"

"I'm not embarrassed! He- I didn't- _he was-_ "

Nico looked around the table. All of them were watching him with frowns, disapproval sharp in every face. He wasn't about to get any sympathy from them.

"Well, I don't think you have to worry about that anymore," Annabeth said, pushing her plate away. "Will is definitely not going to try to be your friend anymore."

Nico's heart skipped at least a dozen beats. He stared down at the table, unable to meet any of their gazes. "Good," he muttered.

Annabeth made a sound in the back of her throat. "You know what, I can't take this," she said, getting to her feet. "Talk to me when you're not being a _brat_ , Nico."

She marched away. Percy scrambled to his feet, looked at Nico as if he wanted to say something, then shook his head and ran after her.

Piper slipped off the bench. "I'm going to go check on Will," she announced, glaring at Nico before turning and marching off.

Jason got to his feet. Nico felt his eyes on him, but he couldn't look up and see the disappointment in his face.

"That wasn't cool, Nico," Jason said quietly. Then he was gone, too.

"I suppose you're going to run off, too?" Nico asked Hazel and Frank without looking at them.

"You know what, I really should go help Piper and Jason," Frank said, getting to his feet. Nico heard him walk away, leaving just Hazel sitting beside him.

"You know, Nico," she said, her voice soft, "Will's right. If you keep trying to push people away… eventually it's going to work."

Nico pressed his hands over his eyes, taking a deep breath. "Hazel-"

He turned to look at her, only to find her seat empty.

Nico turned back to his breakfast, but he wasn't hungry anymore. On the contrary, he felt nauseous, and very, _very_ guilty. He had messed up.

 _Just like he always did._

Whispers followed him as he stalked out of the dining pavilion. If the campers hadn't had something to talk about before, they definitely did now.

Nico had lost all interest in regular camp activities. He retreated to his cabin and shut the door, relaxing in the familiar darkness. He crossed the room in a few strides and threw himself on his bed, curling up on top of the covers. He squeezed his eyes shut. Nico hadn't let himself cry for the past year, and he wasn't about to break that promise just because of a stupid argument. He had been to Tartarus and back. He had been tortured and ripped to pieces and put back together again, and he hadn't shed a single tear. He was _not_ about to cry because of Will Solace.

Nico hadn't even realized he'd broken that promise until he felt the first sob rack his body.

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Nico spent the rest of the day in his cabin, spending his time staring at the ceiling. He could hear the other campers outside, and when the laughter got too unbearable he covered his face with his pillow and tried to drown them out. He skipped lunch, terrified of having to face the others, but as dinner drew around his stomach started to growl uncomfortably.

Nico curled in on himself, shutting his eyes. He had been trying to get some sleep for the past few hours with no success. Every time he felt himself getting close to unconsciousness he would suddenly remember the last time he had fallen asleep to the sound of the waves and Will's peaceful breathing next to him. The tidal wave of guilt that triggered always woke him up.

Nico rubbed his face. He knew he needed to eat, but the idea of sitting at the empty Hades table- for surely no one would sit with him now- was so frightening he forced his hunger from his mind. He had gone much longer than a few hours without food.

It was the last thing Nico expected, so he didn't look up when he thought he heard the door creaking. He kept staring at the wall like he had been for the past thirty minutes, flipped on his side with his back facing the room.

He stiffened when a sudden weight made his mattress sink down, but he didn't look up.

"I brought you something to eat," Hazel said quietly.

Nico slowly turned to look at her. She was sitting on his bed, a plate full of food in her hands. She wasn't smiling at him, but she wasn't glaring, either.

Nico frowned. "I thought you were mad at me." His voice was still hoarse from crying earlier.

Hazel's lips turned up into a sad smile. "I'm disappointed in you, Nico. There's a difference. Besides, I'm your sister, and I'm not about to let you starve."

It was too much. Nico buried his face in his arms, shoulders shaking as he started crying again. He heard Hazel hurriedly set the plate on his bedside table and then she wrapped her arms around him, maneuvering him into a sitting position so he could rest his head on her shoulder. Then she hugged him, whispering, "Shh, it's alright, Nico, I'm here, I'm not going to leave you."

That just made Nico cry harder, and the fact that he was sobbing on his younger sister's shoulder brought even more tears.

He cried for what seemed like hours, and Hazel let him, her embrace constant and warm. When he finally felt as though he had no more tears to shed, Nico sat back, shakily wiping his eyes and nose.

"Sorry," he said, his voice thick.

"Don't be," Hazel said. She fixed his shirt for him. "At least, don't be sorry for crying." She looked at him for a long moment. "You know, I've never seen you cry before," she said softly.

Nico sniffed again, turning away from her. He pushed himself back until he was leaning against the wall and tipped his head back, taking a deep, steadying breath. His throat felt raw and his nose was running. He wiped it again, trying to calm his breathing. Hazel sat next to him silently, letting him gather himself.

When he finally felt calm enough to talk, he opened his eyes to find Hazel holding the plate of food out to him. He laughed humorlessly and took it from her with a nod of thanks.

"I messed up, didn't I?" he asked, setting the plate in his lap.

"Yes, you did," said Hazel. "But I don't think it's anything that can't be fixed."

Nico snorted, picking at a piece of chicken with his fingers. "Not everything can be fixed, Hazel. Besides, I don't think I deserve to have it fixed."

Hazel frowned at him. "Everyone deserves a second chance."

"I had my second chance a long time ago," Nico said. He took another shaky breath, trying not to burst into tears again. "I've had a million second chances, and I've screwed them all up."

Hazel bit her lip. "Nico, I can't promise you that everything will be alright." Nico looked up at her, despair leaking into his expression, and Hazel looked at him sadly. "You hurt Will this morning. _Really_ badly. He refused to talk to any of us about it, and he's been locked up in the infirmary all day. Patching things up with him is going to be _very, very_ hard. But I don't think you should give up."

"Why?" Nico asked. He stared at his lap. "If it's so impossible, why bother?"

"Because he didn't give up on you."

Nico squeezed his eyes shut. He knew she was right. But Will had made it pretty clear that he never wanted to speak to Nico again. He didn't want to push him into something he didn't want. He didn't want to bother Will anymore than he already had. Will didn't deserve that.

"I don't think I'll be able to fix this, Hazel."

Hazel sighed. "I can't promise that you'll be able to, Nico, but there's one thing I can promise you." She laid a hand on his arm, forcing him to look up and meet her eyes. "I'm here for you, Nico, and I'm never going to leave you. You're not alone."

Nico opened his mouth, his eyes watering again. He wanted to say a thousand things to her, the sister who always had his back, who never made him feel unwanted or alone. He wanted to tell her just how much it meant to hear those words spoken with so much conviction, especially in this moment, when he felt more alone and wretched than he ever had before. He wanted to say so many things, but he was afraid he would somehow mess it up, so instead he tried to pour all of his sentiments into just two words.

" _Thank you_ ," he whispered.

Hazel squeezed his wrist to let him know that she understood. With a last smile she got to her feet. "I'll let you finish your dinner," she said. "I want that plate cleared when I come back in an hour, alright? Don't do anything stupid."

"I never do anything stupid," Nico muttered.

"Very funny," Hazel said. She waved goodbye as she left, leaving the cabin empty as before, but somehow lighter than it had been earlier.

Nico ate as she had instructed him to. He owed her at least that much. But the food was dry and tasteless, and he scarfed it down without really thinking about it. When it was empty he set it on his table and curled up again, feeling a little bit less hollow than before.

When Hazel came back he squeezed his eyes shut, pretending to be asleep. He didn't want her to feel she had to sit with him anymore. He forced his muscles to stay relaxed when she walked over and carefully drew the covers over him, bending over and pressing a kiss to his cheek. "Get some real sleep, Nico," she murmured before standing up and returning to her side of the room.

Nico followed her instructions.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I really don't think this is a good idea," Nico said, staring at the entrance to the dining pavilion. He tugged at the hem of his shirt, trying not to turn and run away. The only thing that had kept him from doing that so far was the fact that Hazel stood right beside him.

"You can't avoid it for the rest of the summer," Hazel said.

"I can try."

Hazel laughed and grabbed his hand. "Come on, it won't be that bad."

Nico trailed after her as she marched in. He kept his eyes on the back of her head as he walked, trying to avoid the whispers all around him. The Aphrodite table was, for once, dead silent when he walked past, and he knew that everyone at the Apollo table was glaring daggers at him, but there was no way in _Hades_ he was going to look over there.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he dropped to his seat at the empty Hades table, sitting with his back to the Apollo table so he couldn't accidentally glance at them. Hazel sat down across from him, humming as her goblet filled with water.

"I told you everything would be fine," she said cheerfully.

"That's your idea of _fine_?"

Hazel shot him a look and pushed his food towards him. "Clear the plate," she ordered.

Nico grudgingly picked up a fork. "I'm still full from your 'clear the plate' order last night."

"Good, that means it's working."

They settled into a comfortable silence as they ate. At one point Nico glanced up at the Poseidon table and felt his heart drop into his stomach. All the others were sitting there, laughing about something- all except Frank, who was looking very dejected and kept shooting glances over at the Hades table.

"Hazel, you don't have to sit here," Nico said quietly, feeling guilty.

Hazel frowned at him over her spoonful of oatmeal. "What?"

"You should go and sit with your friends," Nico said.

"I _am_ sitting with my friend."

Nico sighed. "Hazel, you know I appreciate everything that you do for me. But you don't have to-"

"This is the Hades table, and as a daughter of Pluto I have just as much a right to it as you do," she said, lifting her nose into the air.

"I know you do, but-"

"The only reason we're alone is because I asked the others to give you some space," Hazel said.

Nico glanced at Frank again, who didn't look too happy about Hazel's request. "You mean they're not just avoiding me because they hate me?" he asked dryly.

Hazel hesitated. "They don't hate you," she said. "They're not exactly _happy_ with you at the moment, but they don't hate you, I promise. Jason wanted to visit you all day yesterday to knock some sense into you, but I told him you needed some time alone."

"Hm," Nico said doubtfully, but he didn't argue anymore. He went back to picking halfheartedly at his breakfast, his chin resting on his fist.

When Hazel finished her food she crossed her arms and stared at him. Nico frowned at her. "What are you doing?"

"Waiting for you to finish."

Nico sighed. "Hazel-"

"Neither of us are getting up from this table until you finish your breakfast."

Nico tried a few more weak protests but when Hazel made it quite clear that she wasn't about to budge he started on his breakfast again grudgingly. The dining pavilion started emptying around him as campers finished their breakfasts and left for their first activities. At one point the entire Apollo cabin trooped past the Hades table and Nico stared resolutely into his bowl as though it held all the secrets of the universe.

When he had scraped his bowl clean and Hazel was satisfied, they got up and she led him over to the Poseidon table, which was still full despite the fact that they had all finished their breakfasts a while ago. They looked up as Hazel approached, Nico trailing hesitantly behind her.

"Hello," Hazel greeted, leaning down and kissing Frank on the cheek. She sat down next to him and looked up at Nico, a small smile on her face.

Nico took a deep breath. "Um… hi," he said.

Annabeth gazed at him coolly. Percy was staring at the table, and both Jason and Piper were watching him expectantly.

"Listen, I know I…" Nico trailed off, trying to concentrate on what he needed to say. Eventually, he decided to open with, "I'm sorry."

"It's not us you should be apologizing to," said Piper, raising her eyebrows at him.

Nico swallowed. "Yes, it is," he said. He shook his head, frowning. "I mean, obviously there are more people I need to apologize to, but I need to apologize to you all, too. I didn't mean- obviously I feel really bad about- about-" he stopped and shut his eyes, taking a moment to recollect himself. When he opened them again, he found that they were all still staring at him. "Sorry," he said, "let me start again." Another pause. Then he said, "I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry. I know all you guys have ever tried to do was be my friend, and even though I don't really know how to show how much I appreciate it, just know that I do. I appreciate all of you for trying for so long, and I'm sorry I was a… a brat about it." Nico dropped his gaze and stared at his feet. "You all deserve much more than treatment I gave you, so sorry. Yeah."

He twisted his hands together, uncomfortable. He couldn't remember ever making an apology like that, or ever apologizing to more than one person at a time. Nico didn't care whether they truly forgave him or not. Nico just wanted them to understand that he was sorry, even if he didn't deserve forgiveness.

Jason heaved a big sigh. "Well how the hell are we supposed to stay angry with you after _that_?"

Nico looked up at him, surprised. "What?"

"Nico, we never wanted to stop being your friends," Piper said. "We just want you to realize that we _are_ your friends and you shouldn't try to push us away."

Nico's first instinct was to protest. Instead, he swallowed his words and said quietly, "I know."

"We also wanted you to realize that you're an idiot," Annabeth said. She raised her eyebrows at him. "Message received?"

"Yeah."

"Good."

"So you're not… you're not mad at me?" Nico asked.

Percy grinned at him. "Nah, man, we're good. You seem to have realized the error of your ways."

"I have," Nico said.

"Then we're good," Jason said.

"But you do know what you need to do now, though, right?" Annabeth asked.

Nico took a deep breath and nodded, determined. "Yeah. I'm going to go and talk to him."

Hazel smiled as the others nodded their approval. "Good luck," Jason said.

"You're going to need it," added Percy. Annabeth jabbed his ribs. "Ouch!"

"Nico," Hazel said as he turned to go. "Remember what I said, okay?"

Nico smiled at her. "I will. Thanks, Hazel." He glanced up at the rest of the group. "Thanks _everyone_."

Jason grinned at him. "Go get 'em, tiger."

Nico glared at him. "Shut up, Grace," he muttered, turning and marching away.

 **A/N: I'm not positive how many more parts this story will have, but I hope you all enjoyed it! Please leave a review telling me what you think. Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3

Nico had been nervous walking through the labyrinth. He had been scared when he had faced Kronos. He had been frightened in Tartarus, and he had panicked in the jar.

But he was absolutely _terrified_ as he walked towards the training grounds.

He had gotten a few Demeter kids to point him in the right direction. Now he marched towards it, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword. He had no idea what he was going to say if Will let him talk to him. All he knew was that he needed to apologize. He needed to at least try and make things right.

Hades, he was scared.

The sound of clinking swords filled the air as he approached. Slipping through the archway, he scanned the assortment of campers sparring on the field, searching for flashes of blond hair with his heart in his throat.

Standing apart from the older campers was a group of younger ones, all about eleven or twelve. They were standing in a line, awkwardly holding training swords and peeking at their neighbors' to make sure they weren't the only one struggling. And walking up and down the line correcting grips was Will Solace.

Nico was startled. Will was a healer, not a fighter. Then he remembered that, as head counselor- and a well liked one, at that- he was required to help out with the new campers. He knew the basics of sword fighting, of course, and he was probably excellent at teaching them.

Nico didn't want to interrupt, so he walked over to the benches and sat down, laying his sword down beside him. Then he turned back to the grounds and watched as Will demonstrated a basic thrust. His elbow stuck out just a little bit too much, and Nico wished that he could go over there and correct him, but he had the basic form down.

Just then, Will's eyes swept over to the benches and he locked gazes with Nico. Nico sat up straight, panic flooding him. At first, he assumed Will was going to smile, until he remembered that he was mad at him. Then he assumed he would glare at him, or roll his eyes, or even flip him off.

He didn't expect for Will to see him, blink once, then turn back to the campers as though nothing had happened.

Nico felt like someone had driven a dagger through his heart. Will's message was perfectly clear: he had seen Nico, and he didn't care. He was going to keep his word and not try anymore, which meant that Nico no longer deserved his time of day.

All of Nico's resolve flooded him. He couldn't do this. He had to get out of here, out of the training grounds, out of _Camp Half-Blood-_ he couldn't stand to be in the same place as a Will Solace that had stopped caring.

He fumbled for his sword, ready to high-tail it out of there, when a shadow fell over him. He looked up, blinking at the two campers that had appeared in front of him. They were staring down at him, their arms crossed, and Nico realized that they were Apollo kids.

"What are you doing here, di Angelo?" the girl asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

Nico slowly put his sword back down, not wanting to freak them out by picking it up. "Sitting," he said.

"Unless you're sparring or waiting to spar, you can't be on the training grounds," the boy next to her said.

That wasn't a real rule, and they all knew it. The campers were a little bit older than Nico, but he could have taken both of them in a fight with his eyes closed. They all knew that, too. But they were still glaring down at him, stances defensive.

Nico got to his feet, grabbing his sword. Both of them tensed as he clipped it back to his belt. "Fine," he said, turning to walk away. He stopped when one of them called after him.

"You've caused Will enough trouble, di Angelo. Just leave him alone."

Nico didn't look back at them. He walked over to the archway and, just before he exited, he glanced over his shoulder at the group of first year campers. Will was nodding as they replicated his thrust, all smiles and encouragement.

Nico turned and walked away.

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The next day Nico trooped up to the infirmary, feeling as though he was going to be sick. He had been ready to give the whole thing up after the incident on the training grounds yesterday, but his friends had refused to let him stop.

"You need to at least talk to him," Piper had said. "Even if he doesn't forgive you, you both need closure."

So, after breakfast, they pointed him in the direction of the infirmary and gave him a shove with the promise that they wouldn't talk to him again until he at least tried to talk to Will.

 _Closure,_ Nico thought to himself as he approached the infirmary. _I can do that. All I need to do is get some closure. Okay._

Nico stopped in front of the door, which rose before him like the doors of death themselves. He bit down hard on his lip, shifting from side to side. He couldn't back out of this, not now. _Closure._

He raised his hand and knocked.

After a moment, a voice called out, "Come on in!"

Nico slowly opened the door, peeking inside. The infirmary was empty except for a lone figure in the back, their head poked into the supply cabinet. It was Will. He didn't turn around. "Take a seat and I'll be with you in a few seconds!" he called.

Nico stepped inside and shut the door behind him. He took a few steps forward but didn't sit. He stood staring at Will until he turned around, his arms full of what looked like dirty rags.

He opened his mouth to say something, then caught sight of Nico. Immediately his expression cooled. "Are you injured?" he asked briskly, turning away and dumping the rags on one of the beds.

Nico wanted to turn and run. "No."

"Then I'll have to ask you to leave," Will said, starting to separate the rags into different piles. "I'm terribly busy and I don't have time for-"

"I need to talk to you, Will."

"That's a first."

Nico winced. Will kept sorting rags without looking up at him, his hands moving steadily. He looked perfectly at ease except for the fact that his jaw was clenched so tightly Nico was afraid he would hurt himself.

"I'm sorry," Nico said, trying to keep his voice from shaking. When Will didn't respond, he said, "Will?"

"I heard you," Will said without looking at him. He had sorted all the rags, and picked up one of the piles to dump into a box next to the cabinet.

Nico took a deep breath and spit out his next words as fast as he could. "I know you can never forgive me for that stuff I said but I want you to know that I'm really really sorry and I never wanted to hurt you because all you've ever been is a really good friend and I'm so sorry." He bit his lip to stop himself from continuing. Not even he really understood what he had just said, but he had absolutely no idea how to make Will understand what he wanted to say.

Will scooped up the rest of the rags and dumped them in the laundry chute, completely unperturbed by Nico's speech. "Okay," he said.

Nico felt his insides crumble. Will seemed completely unmoved by everything Nico had said, and he couldn't think of anything else to do. If Will wasn't ready to forgive him he at least wanted him to yell at Nico. He wanted Will to get angry and tell him what a lousy excuse for a human being he was. If this was closure, Nico didn't want it.

Will didn't look at him. Nico nodded, staring at the ground. "Right," he muttered, turning to go.

He stopped with his hand on the doorknob and he realized that there _was_ something else he could say: the truth.

"I'm scared of you," Nico said, turning around.

That got him a reaction. Will looked up from the laundry chute, a scowl on his face. "What the _hell_ are you talking about, Nico?"

"I'm scared of you," Nico repeated, his heart jumping around in his chest.

Will rolled his eyes. "If this is meant to be some kind of compliment, it's not working. I'm a doctor, I don't try to be _scary._ "

Nico crossed his arms over his stomach as though that would shield him from the repercussions of his next words. "I'm scared of how you make me feel," he said quietly.

Will's expression changed. He stared at Nico, who couldn't meet his eyes. He had his full attention now.

"I'm scared because you're the only person I've ever met who I feel I can actually talk to," Nico said, carefully looking at the floor. "I'm scared because you're so popular and wonderful and for some reason you actually take time out of your day to talk to me, and I don't know why, but I'm scared because it makes me feel happy that you do. I'm scared because I could never leave Camp Half-Blood now because that would mean leaving you for good and I just can't do that and I don't know why but I'm _scared_ , Will, I'm terrified of you and the only way I can express my fear is by lashing out and I'm not making any excuses because what I did was really terrible and I'm sorry because I never wanted to hurt you, I just wanted to stop being scared, and- and-" Nico put his head in his hands. "And I'm not making any sense, I'm sorry."

When Will spoke, he was several feet closer to Nico. "You're making plenty of sense, Nico," he said quietly.

Nico lifted his head to find Will watching him, his eyebrows furrowed. "You scare me, too," he said.

Nico looked away. "I scare a lot of people."

Will laughed, and Nico's heart leapt at the sound. "Not like that, you idiot. In all the same ways you're scared of me."

Nico blinked. "What?"

"Well, you know, you're…" Will motioned to him, and Nico shifted uncomfortably. Then he frowned. "No, I guess you don't know. Nico, you're… you're incredible. I talk to you because I love doing it. You feel like you can tell me everything because I feel I can tell _you_ everything. You're funny and witty and loyal and-"

"I think you're describing someone else," Nico muttered, his cheeks hot.

"I'm describing _you_ , Nico," Will said. "Why can't you just see that?"

Will was staring at Nico now, his eyes glowing with something Nico couldn't place. Nico took a deep breath. "Can you ever forgive me?" he asked, blushing when his voice cracked.

Will smiled gently at him. "If you promise never to do something stupid like that again… I suppose I can forgive you."

And then he took two steps forward and wrapped Nico in a hug. Nico, who never liked people touching him for more than a few seconds, squeezed Will as hard as Will squeezed him, pressing his face into Will's shoulder. He smelled like a warm summer day and antiseptics, a combination that shouldn't have worked but did. He smelled like _Will._

They pulled apart too soon and stood there, staring at each other. Tension rose in the air, and Nico knew he needed to say something to break it. So he blurted out the first thing that popped into his mind: "I'm gay."

Will raised his eyebrows as the rest of Nico's life crumbled around him. He groaned, turning away and covering his hot face with his hands. _Oh, Hades, he had just ruined the whole thing._ Will was never going to be able to be normal around him now. What had he done? Why had he said that? He felt like bursting into tears.

Will cleared his throat. Nico slowly turned around, his hands sliding off his face, to see Will holding his hand out to him. He looked at him with a serious expression and nodded to his hand.

Confused, Nico reached out and took it. Will gave it a hard shake, his lips twitching. "Nice to meet you, Gay, I'm Will Solace."

Nico made a small noise in the back of his throat, of exasperation and disbelief and confusion. Will laughed, his hand still gripping Nico's.

"And I'm gay, too, by the way," he said, winking at him.

Nico stared at him, startled. "Really?"

"What?" Will shrugged. "My dad fell in love with loads of dudes. Half of my siblings are gay, too. It's no big deal."

 _No big deal?_ This had been Nico's darkest secret for so long, and Will was throwing it around just like that? If Will had been from the 1940's…

Will was startled when Nico suddenly started laughing. He watched in surprise as Nico doubled over, clutching his stomach, almost in tears. His normally pale face was red with leftover embarrassment and the force with which he was cracking up.

Will couldn't help it. He started laughing, too.

The two of them ended up on the floor practically on top of each other, and for almost ten minutes they couldn't stop laughing. Each time they would start winding down, they would look at each other's red faces and start all over again.

Nico was in serious pain, but it was good pain. He had never laughed so hard in his life, and it felt as though someone had just taken the sky off of his shoulders. His sides ached, his cheeks hurt, and Will was right next to him, suffering through the pain as well. It was a good feeling.

Nico pushed himself back against one of the beds, still chuckling. Will stayed sprawled out on the floor, a broad grin on his face.

"I've never heard you laugh like that," he said.

"Don't get used to it," Nico said, smiling at him.

Will flipped over so he was lying on his stomach and looked up at Nico.

"So," he said, "now that we know we're both 'of like mind'-"

Nico rolled his eyes. "Subtle."

"Shut up, di Angelo, give me a break; I've never asked anyone out before."

Nico froze. He stared at Will with his mouth open. Will took one look at his face and blushed bright red.

"I mean- sorry, I just thought- of course, I shouldn't assume-" For once in his charismatic life, Will seemed lost for words. That, more than anything, snapped Nico back to the present.

"Are you asking me out, Will?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yes?"

Nico stared at him, trying to keep his expression as serious as he could. Will started to deflate when he saw Nico's face.

"I have conditions," Nico said.

Will frowned. "What?"

"One- no PDA," Nico said, counting it off on his fingers. "Keep the touchy-touchy to a minimum, _especially_ in public. I do have an image to keep up, you know. Ghost King and all."

Will's lips slowly started turning up into a smile. "I suppose that could be arranged."

"Two- never _ever_ accept any invitations from my father without talking to me first. If he so much as asks to tie your shoelaces you come straight to me. I don't trust that man not to submit you through a series of tasks to prove your 'worthiness'."

"No problems with that request."

"And three- I get to pick the first date."

"I'm not too sure about that one. I refuse to have a candlelit dinner in a _cemetery_."

"Cemeteries happen to have very good ambiance for dates."

"And you would know how?"

"Touché. But really, I don't want our first date to be on an infirmary floor." Nico got to his feet and held out his hand to help Will out. When their hands touched Nico felt a customary shiver run up his spine, but this time it was amplified ten-fold.

Will didn't let go even when he was standing, but gave Nico's hand a squeeze. He laughed when Nico flushed and looked away.

"Now can I tease you about your blushing?" Will asked.

"I do not _blush_ ," Nico snapped at him.

"Please, that's all you ever do. I was just too gentlemanly to comment on them."

"I'm adding a fourth condition, then: no teasing about my blushing."

"You can't add a condition after I accepted!"

"Watch me."

Will rolled his eyes. "Fine. I won't tease you about that _specifically._ But I am going to tease you." He gave Nico's hand another squeeze and then let go. "Let me just lock up," he said, walking over to the supply cabinet.

Nico leaned against one of the beds, watching as Will packed up the rest of his rags and locked the cabinet. He felt a smile cross his face as Will started humming what sounded like a Disney song under his breath. The smile dropped off when he realized how terribly out of tune it was.

"Done," Will said, turning around. He beamed at Nico and Nico couldn't help but grin back. "Now, where are we going?"

"The Big House," Nico said. "I know where the Stolls hide their stuff."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Fifteen minutes later Nico and Will were sitting in the attic, a selection of junk food laid out in front of them. Will was busy reading the nutrition label on a bag of chips while Nico worked on making a triple-layer Oreo.

"This stuff is terrible," Will said, shaking his head. He popped a chip in his mouth. "Just this once, Nico. We are not making this a habit."

"I wouldn't be too worried about that," Nico said, scraping the cream off one of the cookies. "The Stolls are sure to change their hiding place once they find it's all gone."

"I have no doubts you'll be able to find it again," Will said. He eyed Nico's creation- a towering pile of cream sandwiched between two cookies. "You're going to give yourself a heart attack."

"A very delicious heart attack."

"I don't think you understand what a heart attack is, Nico."

Nico stuck his tongue out at him, something that was so childish he cringed inwardly as soon as he did it. But Will just laughed and stuck his tongue out at him in return.

"Oh, sorry about earlier, by the way," Will said, picking up a packet of candy. "I know my siblings kind of accosted you on the training grounds. I didn't ask them to do that, I swear."

"It's fine, really," Nico said. "I kind of deserved it."

"Nico-"

"Don't even try and defend me, Will. I messed up, but I'm over it. They were just looking out for you."

Will winced. "Yeah, just a warning… they're probably not going to stop 'looking out for me' for a while. They seem to think that you're 'not healthy for me' or something stupid like that." When he saw the expression on Nico's face he said hurriedly, "They're wrong, though, of course. They're just not used to seeing me upset, so the fact that you've managed to get to me twice in a week kind of alarmed them. They don't get that the reason I get so upset is because I really care about you."

Nico was really glad that he had added that condition about blushing, because Will would have had a field day right then.

"Yeah, well…" Nico muttered, unsure of what to say. He cleared his throat. "My friends are going to be ecstatic. Oh, Hades- Jason is going to be absolutely unbearable."

Will frowned down at his candy. Then his face lit up. "Brilliant idea alert!" he said. "Let's mess with them."

Nico licked a bit of cream off his finger. "What do you mean?"

"I mean we may never get another opportunity like this again. Do you realize that as of this moment we are in a secret relationship?"

"I don't think it can be considered a secret relationship if it started fifteen minutes ago."

"A relationship is a relationship, and since no one knows about it, it counts as secret."

"You're making this sound like some romance novel."

"I was thinking more _Romeo and Juliet,_ but-"

"I refuse to be Romeo _or_ Juliet."

"Nico, shut up for like, five seconds. As I was _saying,_ we have a golden opportunity to mess with everyone. They all think we're still fighting, right?"

"Well, yeah," said Nico slowly. "What are you getting at?"

"I think we should pretend to keep fighting and see how long it takes them to figure it out."

Nico rolled his eyes. "You're definitely making this into a romance novel."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"It's a _bad thing_ that you sound just like your dad. Please tell me you didn't get his thirst for drama."

"A little drama makes the world go round."

"You do realize that if we do this, we're going to have to keep fighting in public," Nico pointed out.

Will grinned at him. "It'll be a _great_ acting exercise. Plus it'll be fun! Come on, Nico- for me?"

Nico groaned when Will pulled out the puppy eyes. "Will, this is so pointless."

"Do you really want to march out there and announce our relationship to all of your friends?"

The idea made Nico want to cringe. He could practically picture their faces. "Gods, no."

"Then it stays a secret. Just for a little while. Then we can do all the non PDA-y couple stuff we want."

Nico frowned. "So we're… a couple?"

"That's what people usually call two people who go on dates together," Will said. He grabbed the bag of Oreos from Nico and grinned at him. "That okay with you?"

Nico smiled. "I suppose so."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"He said _what_?"

Nico's friends stared as he took another bite of his dinner. They were at the Poseidon table tonight, and Nico was beyond-relieved that they had let him sit with them again, because that way Hazel got to sit with her friends and still fulfill her sisterly duties.

Nico shrugged, trying to look dejected, but it was a little hard after spending the whole day laughing in the attic with Will Solace.

"I tried to talk to him and he told me he didn't want to hear it," Nico said. "I'm not going to push it."

Jason looked as though all his dreams had been crushed. "But- but you two can't just _give up._ You're Nico and Will!"

Nico's heart played a happy little beat in his chest. _Nico and Will._ They were, weren't they?

He shrugged again. "If he doesn't care anymore, then whatever."

Hazel frowned at him. "You really don't care?"

"Nope."

Percy shook his head. "But I thought you… you know."

Nico raised his eyebrows at him. He couldn't help thinking about how silly his crush on Percy had been. He was _so_ not his type. "You thought I what?"

Percy flushed. "Never mind."

"Look, it's really no big deal," Nico said. "I tried to apologize, and that's the best I can do. It's not like we were close or anything."

Jason's jaw dropped. "But- but-" He caught sight of something behind Nico and cleared his throat. "Incoming Apollo table," he muttered.

Nico turned in his seat to see Will leading his cabin towards the exit. He wanted to smile at him, but he forced his expression to stay neutral as Will approached. Will caught his eyes and his lips twitched ever so slightly before he glared at him.

"What are you looking at, di Angelo?" he barked as he got closer.

Nico felt his friends stiffen. He raised his eyebrows. It seemed Will really intended to have some fun with this. "Absolutely nothing, Solace."

Will muttered something to one of his cabin-mates, who looked shocked. Nico narrowed his eyes.

"Something to share with the class, Solace?"

Will smiled sweetly at him, drawing to a stop next to his table. His cabin stopped behind him, looking nervous. "Nothing at all."

Nico got to his feet, ignoring Hazel, who was hissing at him to sit down. "Look, if you've got a problem with me, just spit it out. I've been trying to talk to you all day."

"I've got about a hundred problems with you, di Angelo," Will said, crossing his arms.

"Like what?"

"Like the fact that you're so self-righteous you think you can just march off to your _Daddy_ whenever you want."

Nico shot him a look, trying to convey how pathetic that insult was. Will gave an almost imperceptible shrug.

"Whatever, Solace, you're not worth my time," Nico said. He shook his head and sat back down.

Will laughed. " _I'm_ not worth _your_ time? That's rich." He nodded at his siblings, who all looked shell-shocked. "Come on, guys, let's get out of here."

They marched out of the dining pavilion. Nico turned back to his food, picked up his fork, and resumed eating as though nothing had happened.

He looked up when no one said anything to find them all staring at him. "What?" he asked.

"Are you okay?" Jason asked.

Nico shrugged. "I'm fine. I told you he wasn't ready to forgive me."

"That wasn't like Will," Piper said, frowning. "I mean, I understand he's angry, but that was stooping kind of low."

"That's it," Jason said, getting to his feet. "Come on, Nico, I'm dragging you over there and we're _making_ him listen to you."

"Jason, sit down," Nico said, rolling his eyes. "I'm not going to _make_ Will listen to me."

"He should at least hear you out!"

"Well, we can't make him so can you just let it go? Please?" He tried to inject some measure of pleading into his voice; he didn't want Jason to actually go after Will. That would be disastrous.

Jason grudgingly sat back down, still grumbling.

"I'm sorry, Nico," Hazel said, putting her arm around his shoulders and squeezing. "I'm sure Will will come around eventually."

Nico felt a stab of guilt for fooling his sister, and smiled weakly at her. "Thanks, Hazel."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He was waiting for Nico on the beach, in the same place they had fallen asleep a few days ago. He was sitting in the same position, his flip flops cast to the side and his feet in the water. Nico couldn't help but think about how familiar this all was, even though everything was different now.

"You're welcome," Nico said, sitting down next to him. He made sure to keep clear of the water, but allowed himself to sit a few inches closer to Will than he had before.

Will wiggled his toes in the water and looked sideways at him, leaning back on his hands. "What for?"

"Stopping Jason from locking you in my cabin until you talk to me."

Will laughed, and Nico glowed with pride for soliciting that from him. "I suppose you're my hero, then."

"Don't forget it."

Nico finally turned away from Will and looked out at the water. The sun was still up, but it was already sinking steadily. They only had about an hour until curfew, and there would be no late night tonight. Nico didn't think they would be able to pull another one off without getting busted.

"You need to think of better insults," Nico said.

Will sighed dramatically, tipping his head back. "It's kind of hard when there's nothing to insult."

Nico flushed. "You'll have to get creative, then."

"Hey, they weren't that bad! Besides, you didn't have any good insults either."

Nico shrugged. "It's like you said: it's hard."

"We really are a perfect match, aren't we?" said Will. "I mean, we're both perfect."

Nico laughed. He felt very far from perfect at that moment, but he had to admit that Will had very few faults.

He felt a weight on his hand and looked down to see that Will had placed his own over Nico's. Confused, Nico looked up at Will, who was staring out at the water. Nico cautiously twisted his hand over, and Will entwined their fingers.

"This okay?" he asked.

Nico nodded, swallowing a lump in his throat. "Yeah," he said, annoyed when his voice came out a pitch higher. Will's lips twitched, but luckily he didn't say anything.

"What team are you going to be on for capture the flag?" he asked.

Their first game since the war was tomorrow, and everyone was determined to make it a good one. "I don't know," said Nico. "Jason and Percy are on opposite teams, so I could go either way. Which team are you on?"

"Apollo's on blue this time."

"I'll be on blue, then."

"Nah, you should be on red," Will said. When Nico looked startled, he said, "If everyone thinks we're fighting, don't you think they'll expect us to be on opposing teams? Besides, it'll be fun."

"Why do you even care? Don't you just hide during the game?"

Will looked insulted. "Excuse me?"

Nico rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, you couldn't stab a tree."

"Just because I'm medically inclined-"

"Is that what they're calling it nowadays?"

"-doesn't mean I can't take you down," Will said, talking right over Nico.

"I'd like to see you try," Nico said, snorting. Oh, gods, had he just snorted?

"You're on," Will said. "Oh, we are so on opposite teams now." He squeezed Nico's hand, and Nico squeezed back, elated.

When the horn for curfew rang, they got up and walked off the beach, Will swinging his flip flops in his hand. They checked themselves carefully for sand in the cover of the trees, and then Will wrapped Nico in long hug before sprinting back to his cabin, leaving a very flustered Nico behind him.

Hazel was reading when Nico wandered into the cabin, still bright red from Will's hug. She took one look at him and put down her book, eyebrows raised.

"Where have _you_ been?" she asked.

"Just taking a walk," Nico said vaguely, waving his hand. He walked over to his side and bent over his dresser to hide his grin. He could feel Hazel's eyes on him, but she averted them when he changed into his pajamas.

"You seem very happy for someone who's in the middle of a massive fight," she said when he was changed and climbing into bed.

Nico shrugged. "I'm no happier than usual." _Total lie._

"Sure you aren't…"

Nico grinned at her and drew the covers up. "Night, Hazel."

Hazel shook her head, going back to her book. "Goodnight, Nico."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Nico was on guard duty with Jason.

Percy had pitched a fit when Nico had sided with the red team, and was only placated by the fact that the Athena cabin was blue this month as well. After promising to destroy the red team, Percy had marched off to strategize with Annabeth and the rest of the Athena kids.

Jason and Nico were given the task of guarding the flag on the theory that nothing would be able to get past both of them combined. It was a very good theory, one that they were very confident on; the only person who had a real chance of getting past them was Percy and maybe one of Annabeth's plans, but if the two of them worked together there shouldn't be any problem.

Piper was on their team as well, but she, Hazel, and Frank were on offense. Nico had seen Will briefly before the games trying to get his cabin in order, and barely managed a good excuse when Jason asked why he was smiling.

When the horn sounded, Jason and Nico settled in to wait. It would be at least ten minutes before any of the action got to them, but they kept on their guard, slowly circulating the red flag, swords at the ready.

"Any news on Will, Nico?" Jason called to him.

Nico rolled his eyes. "Is now really the time, Jason?"

"No time like the present. Come on, he still isn't talking to you?"

"No."

Jason shook his head. "You don't deserve that."

Nico didn't answer. He appreciated his friends' concern, but he didn't want to say anything that would blow his and Will's cover. The last thing he wanted to do was have to explain his relationship to his friends. Especially Hazel, who didn't even know he was…

"Whatever," Jason said, oblivious to Nico's dilemma. "You can do better. What about that Hecate guy? He's pretty cute, right?"

Nico suppressed a smile. "Jason, you know very well that I didn't like Will in that way." _Another total lie._

Jason held his hands up. "Okay, okay. Just trying to make conversation."

"You're trying to meddle with my love life, that's what you're doing."

"Your love life is so exciting, though!"

"My love life is non-existent." Will was right, it was fun messing with his friends.

"Not for long. I will find you someone, my friend," Jason promised.

"You do that."

They were quiet as they returned their focus to guarding the flag.

Fifteen minutes had passed when they heard the first movement from the trees. Jason and Nico stood with their backs to each other, swords held at the ready, all of their senses alert for a sign of invaders.

After a few seconds two figures appeared from the bushes. Percy was looking at Nico apologetically, and next to him was-

" _Will?_ " For a moment Nico forgot they were supposed to be mad at each other and almost dropped his sword at the sight of the son of Apollo approaching with a sword borrowed from the camp weaponry.

"Surprised, di Angelo?" His voice seemed mocking, but there was genuine humor in it that told Nico the look on his face must have been precious.

Nico glared at him. "What the heck are you doing on offense, Will?" he shouted at him, genuinely surprised.

"Planning to take down the defense. I promised, didn't I?"

"What does that mean, Solace?" Jason growled, keeping his sword aimed at Percy, who was edging closer to the flag.

"None of your business, Grace," Will called. He kept his eyes fixed on Nico, who held his sword at the ready. "You focus on Jason, Percy. I've got Nico."

Jason swung first. Percy blocked it easily. "What the heck, man?" Nico heard Jason hiss at Percy.

"It's not my fault!" Percy said, feinting at Jason's left side. "He insisted on offense! Annabeth let him!"

"What are you doing here, Will?" Nico asked as Will approached, holding the sword straight out in front of him like a spear.

"I told you I would take you down!"

"You can barely hold a sword right, Will."

"Oh, I don't need a sword." To prove his point, Will tossed it to the side. Nico heard Percy yell, "What the hell are you doing, Solace?"

"Focus on Jason!" he called back without breaking Nico's gaze.

Nico slowly lowered his sword, frowning. "Will, what are you doing?"

"I told you, I'm taking you down!" Will beamed at him, the picture of innocence.

Nico laughed. "With what, words? Are you going to talk me into submission?"

Will raised his eyebrows. "Don't mock my plan, Nico."

"Will, you don't have a-"

And then Will had crossed the distance between them in two steps and was kissing him.

Nico was so stunned he dropped his sword, standing stock still. His eyes were wide open, and he stared at Will's closed ones. Will's hands were on his cheeks, holding him in place, but it was unnecessary. A second later his eyes were shut, too, and he was kissing him back.

He heard a loud gasp and a shout of pain that sounded like Percy had cut himself with his own sword, but Nico didn't care about that. All he cared about was how warm Will's lips were and how they tasted like the sun itself.

It seemed like years before they broke apart, breathing heavily. They stayed nose to nose, staring into each other's eyes. Will was smiling like an idiot, and Nico was sure he was doing the same thing.

"I win," Will whispered as a streak of red flew past him. Nico heard Annabeth shouting for Percy to follow her as she carried the flag to victory.

Nico's jaw dropped. " _That was your plan?_ "

"It distracted you," Will said, looking pleased with himself. "And it distracted Jason. And Percy, it looks like."

Nico glanced over his shoulder. Both Jason and Percy were staring at them, their jaws dropped. Percy looked as though he'd never be able to close his mouth again.

"Plus, it was a very fun plan," Will said with a grin.

Nico took a step away, his cheeks hot. He narrowed his eyes at Will. "Not only did you use me just to win capture the flag," he said in a low, dangerous voice, "you broke my number one condition: _no PDA_."

Will's smile faded. "Hey, it was just-"

"I don't want to hear it, Solace," Nico said. He shook his head, disgusted. "Gods, I can't believe you."

He marched past him. Will made a strangled noise. "Nico, it wasn't- I didn't mean to-"

Nico stopped and spun back around. Will was standing rooted to the spot, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. He looked crushed. Behind him, Jason and Percy were watching with wide, fearful eyes.

Nico glared at him for a moment longer and then grinned. "Got you," he said.

Will stared at him. Then he let out an incredulous laugh, a smile spreading across his face. "Alright, we're even," he said, shaking his head. "Gods, don't _do_ that to me, Nico! I thought you were really upset!"

"At you? Never," Nico said, walking back over. Will grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. "I'm just plotting the best way to take you down next month."

"I was thinking we could have a truce," Will said with a hopeful grin.

Nico snorted and shook his head. "No way, Solace. The Apollo cabin is going down."

"Wait just one second!" Jason had gotten his voice back. He stared from Will to Nico and then down to their entwined hands. He pointed at Nico, accusatory. "I thought you two were fighting!"

"We were," Will assured him. "For like, a day. Then we were acting."

"So you've just been- you've been- _pretending_ this whole time?" Jason spluttered.

"I thought we were just having some fun," Nico said. He glared at Will, who grinned at him. " _Apparently_ it was all just part of his evil plan."

"Hey, I had plenty of fun with my evil plan. _Speaking_ of fun-" Will started dragging Nico back into the woods. "Let's go celebrate my victory!"

Jason and Percy caught up to them halfway there. Jason was still spluttering, and Percy still hadn't closed his jaw. Nico didn't have the energy to care. Will was holding his hand, looking back at him every few seconds to smile. He had a dimple on his left cheek that Nico hadn't noticed until now. Could this guy get any more perfect?

The rest of the camp was congregated at the dividing line in the field. Half of them were celebrating, while the other half moaned good-naturedly and vowed retribution next month. Annabeth stood at the center, holding the red flag and grinning around at everyone. When she spotted Percy she rolled her eyes.

"There you are!" she said, pushing through the crowd and walking over. "I told you to follow me!"

Percy shook his head blankly. Annabeth reached out and closed his jaw, and he blinked. "Thanks," he said.

"Jason! Nico!" Piper marched towards them, followed by Hazel and Frank. She looked annoyed. "What gives? The game hardly lasted twenty minutes!"

"It wasn't my fault!" Jason said. He pointed at Nico. "Ask _him_."

Half the campers turned towards Nico, including all of his friends. He blushed scarlet and tried to let go of Will's hand, but Will just squeezed harder.

"I- uh-" Nico fumbled for words.

"Will?" Piper's expression changed. She looked defensive. "What are you doing with-" Her eyes fell down to their hands. She frowned, and then a look of realization crossed her face. Her eyes narrowed and she turned back to Jason. "Oh, come on! You let that distract you? Like you didn't see that coming."

"I thought they were fighting!" Jason moaned.

"And you!" Annabeth jabbed Percy in the chest. "I warned you not to get distracted by anything!"

"Oh, come on!" Percy said. "You weren't the least bit stunned?"

"It was all part of the plan!"

Percy's jaw dropped again. "You _knew_?"

"Will told me this morning, that's why I put him on offense."

"Wait a second- _you_ knew and not _me_?" Jason looked affronted.

"Nico?" Hazel stepped forward, looking confused. "What's going on?"

Will threw his arm around Nico's shoulders, looking pleased with himself. Nico said weakly, "We made up."

"They made _out_!" Nico glared at Percy as everyone started talking excitedly.

Hazel's expression changed to one of shock. Nico winced, shrinking further into Will's side. He gave him a light squeeze, which bolstered him with courage.

"Hazel, I'm- I'm-"

Hazel ran forward and threw her arms around both of them.

"Oh, this is perfect!" she said, drawing away and beaming at both of them. "I knew you two liked each other! I'm so glad you aren't fighting, you're perfect for each other- why didn't you tell me, Nico?"

Nico stared at her incredulously. "You mean you're not- mad?"

Hazel rolled her eyes. "Hades, Nico, I may be old-fashioned, but do you really think I care who you date? On the contrary, this is the best news I've ever heard!" She grinned up at Will, who smiled back. "Congratulations you two. Really."

"Yeah, man." Percy stepped forward and clapped Nico on the back, grinning. "I totally called it, by the way."

"Sure you did," Nico said, grinning back.

"So you two _don't_ hate each other?" one of the Apollo kids asked, frowning.

"Nah," Will said. "Nico could never hate me. Right, Death Boy?"

"I don't know, I'm having my doubts right now," Nico muttered, but he was smiling so much Will just laughed at him.

"ALRIGHT, CLEAR A SPACE!" Campers backed out of the way as Jason marched up to him. Nico resisted the urge to take a step back; he looked furious.

"You!" Jason jabbed a finger at Nico. "My cabin, now! How dare you keep this a secret from me! We need to have a serious talk." He turned to Will. "Sorry, Solace, I have to steal your boyfriend for a little while. We have a _lot_ to talk about."

To Nico's horror, Will let his arm drop. "He's all yours," Will said, winking at him.

Before Nico could protest, Jason grabbed his arm and dragged him through the crowd of campers, muttering the whole time. "Thinks he can keep it a _secret_ from me… non-existent _love life_ …"

"Jason-" Nico started to say, but Jason shot him a look and Nico shut up.

Jason started towards the Zeus cabin but changed direction at the last minute, stomping up the steps to the Hades cabin. Nico trailed weakly in after him as Jason stalked over to Nico's bed and threw himself on it.

"Your cabin's cozier," Jason said. He crossed his arms and glared at Nico, who stood in the doorway awkwardly. "Now, this time, you're _really_ going to tell me everything. How could you keep something this big a secret? You've broken like, every rule of the bro code by not telling me."

"What?"

"You and Will!" Jason said in a tone of someone pointing out the obvious. "Was that your first kiss? How long have you actually been dating? Were you ever really fighting? Come on, dude, spill!"

Nico laughed when he realized that Jason was only upset because he wasn't the first to hear the camp's newest gossip. "Jason, you are way too invested in my love life."

"For good reason, it seems! Come on." He patted the bed next to him, and Nico obligingly crawled onto the mattress next to him.

"Now spill," Jason instructed.

Nico spilled.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Marshmallow?" Will offered, stabbing two of them onto his stick.

"Burnt, please," Nico said.

Will shot him a look. "You know I make the perfect golden brown marshmallows, right?"

"That's nice. Burn mine, please."

Will rolled his eyes but thrust the stick right into the heart of the fire.

It was the first campfire since Nico and Will had made their relationship public, and Nico was kind of worried about being so open about it. But it was the perfect setting for a first real date- it was so dark it was hard to see anyone who wasn't sitting close to the fire, and everyone was so focused on singing and s'mores they didn't have time to monitor the camp's newest couple.

Will pulled the stick out of the fire when the marshmallows ignited. He held it between the two of them, and they watched the flame spark and leap between them. After a few moments, Nico blew it out to reveal two charred lumps.

"Perfect!" he said, taking the stick and blowing on them to cool them off.

Will laughed and put his arm around Nico. Nico stiffened before letting himself relax. He leaned against Will's side, pulling the first hot marshmallow off of the stick and popping it in his mouth.

"Mmm," he said, just to prove a point. "Tasty."

Will shook his head. "I can't believe I'm dating someone who likes burnt marshmallows."

"I can't believe _I'm_ dating someone who's so boring they like _golden brown marshmallows_."

"Marshmallows were not meant to be barbecued!"

"Why are you even eating marshmallows?" Nico accused. "They're all sugar. Aren't they against your beliefs or something?"

"Just because I care about health doesn't mean I can't have a treat once in a while."

"You've had seven s'mores and we've only been here for fifteen minutes. You know what I think? I think Will Solace has a sweet tooth."

Will drew away from him, placing his hand over his heart in mock-hurt. "Excuse you, I am a _doctor!"_

"Where'd you get your license- Candyland?"

"Oh, shut up and give me the other marshmallow."

"Look who's come crawling back," Nico said, pulling the marshmallow off of the stick.

Will rolled his eyes and opened his mouth expectantly. Nico raised his eyebrows. "What are you doing?"

"Waiting for the marshmallow," Will said, his mouth still open.

"There is no way in Hades I'm feeding you."

"You're my boyfriend, you're supposed to feed me!"

Nico's heart fluttered at the ease with which Will used that term. "I'm your boyfriend, not your servant," Nico pointed out.

"Same difference. Come on, Nico- please?" He jutted out his bottom lip in a pout.

Nico rolled his eyes. "Ugh, whatever. Open."

Will lit up and opened his mouth. Nico popped the marshmallow in, hiding his grin as Will closed his eyes and chewed, a smile on his face.

"I guess it's not so bad if _I_ make it," he conceded, his mouth full of marshmallow.

"You're such a snob."

Will swooped in and planted a kiss on Nico's cheek. Nico pushed him away, laughing and scrubbing at the spot he had kissed him. "Gross!" he said. "Your lips are sticky!"

Will swallowed his marshmallow. "They're also very sweet," he said, waggling his eyebrows.

Nico was glad it was dark enough to hide his blush.

Will speared another marshmallow and put it in the fire, putting his arm back around Nico. Nico leaned into him, and raised his eyes to look across the fire. Jason and Percy were sitting there, staring straight at him. When they realized he was looking they both lit up and gave him matching thumbs up. Nico rolled his eyes and turned back to Will, who was trying to tell him a story about some dolphins he had seen in Florida.

When it was time for the sing-a-long Will tried to drag Nico up to sing with the Apollo cabin, but Nico managed to resist. Will handed over the roasting stick, gave Nico another sticky peck on the cheek, and hurried off to join his siblings.

"He's good for you," a voice whispered in his ear. Nico jumped and spun around to see Hazel sitting there, smiling at him.

"A little warning before you give me a heart-attack next time, please," Nico said, pulling his marshmallow out of the fire.

"Sorry." Hazel slid into the spot next to him. Nico offered her the marshmallow, and she accepted. "He's good for you," she repeated.

Nico glanced back over at the Apollo cabin, who had started a round of "This Land is Minos". Standing in the front, singing so loudly all of his siblings winced, Will swayed back and forth to the beat of the song, his eyes shut. Nico grinned without thinking about it, then turned back to Hazel with a shrug.

"I suppose he is."

"I mean it," Hazel said as Will's crescendo reached an ungodly note. "I've never seen you laugh so much in one night."

"What can I say? I'm a funny person."

Hazel laughed and grinned at him. "He really _is_ good for you."

Nico glanced back at Will and smiled again. "Yeah, he is."

"Nico…" Nico looked back at her to see that her smile had died a little bit. "About the whole gay thing… why didn't you tell me?"

Nico looked down at his stick, which was sticky with marshmallow remains. "I don't know," he muttered.

Hazel reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing it. "You can always tell me anything," she said. "Remember, I love you no matter what. You understand?"

Nico looked up and met her eyes. She looked worried. Nico smiled. "I know." And he meant it.

Hazel squeezed his hand one last time as the song started winding to a close and then slipped out of the seat, climbing back to where Frank sat entertaining a couple of younger Ares kids with a description of New Rome.

Nico turned around to see Will carrying out a last shaky note as the song ended. As soon as he stopped the campers erupted into applause and the fire rose into the night air, wild with enthusiasm.

Will walked back over to Nico and dropped down into his seat. Nico applauded him as he took the stick back and bowed his head. "Thank you, thank you," he said airily. "I've been practicing for that one."

"It shows," Nico said, nodding. "You really should try a solo some time."

Will lit up while the campers who had overheard stared at Nico with scandalized expressions. "I should!" He bobbed his head happily as his siblings launched into another song and took Nico's hand. "But I think I'll stay here tonight."

Nico's heart soared. He looked back across the fire, where Percy and Jason were arguing good-naturedly about something. Piper and Annabeth looked at each other over their boyfriend's heads, rolling their eyes. Behind him Nico could vaguely hear Frank talking about the other Mars children in New Rome, with Hazel occasionally interjecting with a random piece of trivia. And next to him, Will was holding his hand and using the other to demonstrate the perfect marshmallow roasting technique.

"None of this burnt crap," he was saying, pulling the marshmallow out of the fire. He squinted at it in the dim light from the flames. "See? It's perfectly crispy but still has _flavor_." He turned to Nico for inspection and raised his eyebrows when he saw that Nico was already staring at him, a smile on his face. "What?"

Nico shrugged, grinning. "Nothing." He leaned in and kissed Will. Will kissed him back before pulling away briefly.

"I thought my lips were sticky," he teased.

Nico laughed. "They're also sweet."

Will chuckled. "I think that was the sappiest thing I've ever heard you say."

"Don't get used to it."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

He kissed him again, and Nico felt like jumping up and touching the moon.

 **A/N: I'm marking this story as complete for now unless I think of more one-shots or plots for these two lovebirds. Thanks for all your reviews and encouragements! I hope you enjoyed.**


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